Magnetic Trapping of Silver and Copper, and Anomalous Spin Relaxation in the Ag-He System
Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 103002 – Published 4 September, 2008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.103002
Abstract
We have trapped large numbers of copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) atoms using buffer-gas cooling. Up to atoms and atoms are trapped. Lifetimes are as long as 5 s, limited by collisions with the buffer gas. Ratios of elastic to inelastic collision rates with He are , suggesting Cu and Ag are favorable for use in ultracold applications. The temperature dependence of the collision rate varies as . We find that this temperature dependence is inconsistent with the behavior predicted for relaxation arising from the spin-rotation interaction, and conclude that the system displays anomalous collisional behavior in the multiple-partial wave regime. Gold (Au) was ablated into buffer gas, however, atomic Au lifetimes were observed to be too short to permit trapping.