An atomic beam of titanium produced from commercially available parts

Atomic beams are central to the study of atomic properties. While some elements, like alkalis, are easily produced in a beam by sublimation in a vacuum, others are not. Creating an atomic beam of titanium, in particular, is a challenge, despite interest in this element for precision spectroscopy and quantum physics.

Titanium is a highly refractory element that creates few metastable coolable atoms during sublimation. Schrott et al. designed a system to overcome these challenges and achieved a working model using commercially available technology.

The team’s source uses a common getter pump called a titanium sublimation pump. In a setup resembling an incandescent lightbulb, a titanium hemisphere is radiatively heated by an interior tungsten coil and emits a beam of ground state sublimated titanium atoms. These sublimated atoms are optically pumped into a higher energy level for laser cooling.

“Our result provides a clear path towards realizing laser cooling and trapping of titanium atoms,” said author Jackson Schrott. “The hope is that this style of beam source will be implemented in new laser cooling and trapping experiments for titanium and possibly other transition metals as well.”

The work will enable future ultracold titanium experiments. Already, the researchers have used the beam in two new experiments in their lab.

“As we gain experience operating these sources, we may learn how the design can be further refined,” Schrott said. “Eventually, we may return to the work of manufacturing similar beam sources for other transition metal elements.”

Source: “An atomic beam of titanium for ultracold atom experiments,” by Jackson Schrott, Diego Novoa, Scott Eustice, and Dan M. Stamper-Kurn, Review of Scientific Instruments (2024). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0223352 .