DYNAMICS OF NOISE-INDUCED HEATING IN ATOM TRAPS

A Fokker-Planck equation is derived for the energy distribution of ato ms in a three-dimensional harmonic trap with fluctuations in the sprin g constant and the equilibrium position. Using this model, we predict trap lifetimes based on the measurable noise spectra of the fluctuatio ns. The energy distributions evolve into a single eigenmode where the apparent temperature of the distribution remains constant while the po pulation decays as a consequence of the energy input. The method of an alysis and the corresponding results an applicable to any optical, mag netic, or ion trap that is approximately harmonic, and offer useful in sights into both noise-induced and optical heating processes. [S1050-2 947(98)05211-1].