Np. Bigelow et al., QUANTUM CONTROL OF MOTIONAL STATES OF NEUTRAL ATOMS - EXPLOITING THE EXTERNAL DEGREES OF FREEDOM, Acta Physica Polonica. A, 93(1), 1998, pp. 11-29
As research in quantum optics has advanced, so too has our ability to
precisely tailor the quantum state of a system. Indeed, techniques for
quantum state preparation have become sufficiently advanced that an e
ntire subfield has appeared which has been given the name ''quantum co
ntrol'' Parallel to these advances have been other striking developmen
ts in quantum optics, in particular, laser cooling and trapping of neu
tral atoms. In this paper we describe some of the recent advancements
in laser cooling, particularly in our laboratories, and point out that
laser cooling and trapping is also realizing an important form of qua
ntum control. In laser cooling, instead of exercising control over the
internal quantum state of an atom or molecule or a laser field, we ar
e instead controlling a complementary set of degrees of freedom: those
of the external coordinates of the atom.