Ground state laser cooling using electromagnetically induced transparency

A laser cooling method for trapped atoms is described which achieves ground state cooling by exploiting quantum interference in a driven h-shaped arra ngement of atomic levels. The scheme is technically simpler than existing m ethods of sideband cooling, yet it can be significantly more efficient, in particular when several motional modes are involved, and it does not impose restrictions on the transition linewidth. We study the full quantum mechan ical model of the cooling process for one motional degree of freedom and sh ow that a rate equation provides a good approximation.