LASER COOLING AND TRAPPING OF ATOMS - NEW TOOLS FOR ULTRA-STABLE CESIUM CLOCKS

Recent progress in laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms is pavi ng the way for the development of more accurate caesium atomic clocks. This paper surveys the progress of ground-based fountain clocks, repo rting in detail on some recent results obtained with the prototype clo ck under development at LPTF, and also discusses the prospects for sat ellite-based clocks, which, taking advantage of a reduced-gravity envi ronment, may enable the full potential of laser cooling to be realized .