Stopping supersonic beams with a series of pulsed electomagnetic coils: an atomic coilgun

Author :E. Narevicius, A. Libson, C. Parthey, I. Chavez, J. Narevicius, U. Even, and M.G. Raizen
Publication :Phys. Rev. Lett.
Volume :100
Pages :093003
Year :2008

We report the stopping of an atomic beam, using a series of pulsed electromagnetic coils. We use a
supersonic beam of metastable neon created in a gas discharge as a monochromatic source of paramagnetic
atoms. A series of coils is fired in a timed sequence to bring the atoms to near rest, where they are
detected on a microchannel plate. Applications to fundamental problems in physics and chemistry are
discussed.