INVESTIGATIONS ON THE LOADING OF A 2-COLOR VAPOR-CELL MAGNETOOPTIC TRAP FOR SODIUM ATOMS

We investigate the loading of a two-color vapor-cell magneto-optical t rap for sodium atoms as a function of several operational parameters o f the trap. We use two laser frequencies acting in different spatial r egions to obtain either enhancement or inhibition of the capture mecha nism. We demonstrate that the best enhancement is achieved when the tr ap operates on a combination of atomic transitions, known as type I tu ning, by using a second laser beam to capture atoms through a differen t combination of transitions (type II tuning).