LASER COOLING OF CESIUM ATOMS IN GRAY OPTICAL MOLASSES DOWN TO 1.1 MU-K

We have studied the behavior of cesium atoms cooled in six-beam ''gray '' optical molasses. Cooling occurs for a laser detuned to the blue si de of the 6S(1/2),F=3-->6P(3/2),F'=2 transition, and a Sisyphus-type e ffect accumulates the atoms in states not coupled to the light. We mea sure a minimum temperature of 1.1+/-0.1 mu K at low atomic density. Th e typical cooling time is on the order of 1 ms. A linear dependence of the temperature versus atomic density is found with a slope of simila r to 0.6 mu K/(10(10) atoms/cm(3)).