Abstract
We measure the number of atoms trapped in a conventional vapor-cell magneto-optic trap (MOT) using beams that have a diameter in the range 1–5 mm. We show that the scaling law observed for larger MOTs is a robust approximation for optimized MOTs with beam diameters as small as 3 mm. For smaller beams, the description of the scaling depends on how is defined. The most consistent picture of the scaling is obtained when is defined as the diameter where the intensity profile of the trapping beams decreases to the saturation intensity. Using this definition, scales as for but, at larger , still scales as .
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