Inelastic Scattering of Magnetically Trapped Atomic Chromium

Abstract

Cold collisions of atomc chromium in a magnetic trap are studied. A cryogenic buffer gas is employed to load 1012 chromium atoms into a magnetic trap at an initial temperature of ∼ 1 K. The trap depth is then lowered to cool the atoms to temperatures as low as 2 mK. After cooling, the steady state temperature and the number of remaining atoms are measured and the chromium collisional properties extracted. Elastic and inelastic scattering rates for 52Cr-52Cr are measured at temperatures ranging from 2 mK to 1 K. The inelastic scattering rate coefficient shows a dramatic variation with temperature. At 1 K it is roughly $10^{−13}$cm$^3$s$^{−1}$. However, at temperatures just above the ultra-cold limit, the scattering rate sharply increases to values as high as $2 \times 10^{−9}$cm$^{3}$s$^{−1}$.

Type