Magneto-optical trap loaded from a low-velocity intense source

We produced a slow atomic beam of rubidium with a low-velocity intense sour ce (LVIS) and loaded a magneto-optical trap (MOT) in a connected chamber wi th the beam. The hole for the atomic beam allowed us to keep the MOT chambe r at a much lower pressure than that of the LVIS. The LVIS produced an atom ic beam with a continuous flux of (4.3 +/-: 0.4) x 10(9)/s and an average v elocity of only 11 +/-: 3 m/s. The MOT captured the atoms with 67 +/- 15% e fficiency, which was limited by the atomic-beam divergence. The MOT held 6 x 10(9) atoms with a typical trap-confinement time of 8 s. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(99)00406-3] OCIS codes: 020.7010, 020.2070, 140.7010, 300.6210.