Dr. Alexander Retzker 

Universitaet Ulm, Germany

Date: Nov. 28, 2010

Title: Laser cooling schemes for cold atoms

Abstract:

In this Colloquium the importance of laser cooling for the benefit of
cold atoms experiments will be reviewed.  In particular I will explain
the role of dark state cooling schemes in the quest to reach the
ground state of single particles and many body systems.
I will present a robust and fast laser cooling scheme suitable for
trapped ions, atoms, or cantilevers. Based on quantum interference,
generated by a special laser configuration, it is able to rapidly cool
the system such that the final phonon occupation vanishes to zeroth
order in the Lamb-Dicke parameter in contrast to existing cooling
schemes.