Comptes Rendus
no. S3
Historical foreword: Jean Dalibard, the magneto-optical trap, and the ascent of physics with cold atomic gases
[Avant-propos historique  : Jean Dalibard, le piège magnéto-optique et l’essor de la physique des gaz atomiques froids]
William Phillips1 
1 Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8424, USA
Comptes Rendus. Physique, Online first (2023), pp. 1-9.

Je présente mon point de vue personnel sur l’importance qu’a eu l’invention par Jean Dalibard du piège magnéto-optique (PMO), qui a été pendant de nombreuses années la «  cheville ouvrière » du domaine du refroidissement laser et des gaz d’atomes froids. Je raconte une partie de l’histoire liée au PMO et je soutiens la thèse selon laquelle son invention a permis aux gaz d’atomes froids d’accéder à la place dominante en physique atomique, moléculaire et optique qu’ils occupent aujourd’hui.

I present my personal perspective on the importance of the invention by Jean Dalibard of the magneto-optical trap (MOT), which has for many years been the “workhorse” of the field of laser cooling and cold atomic gases. I recount some of the history related to the MOT and argue that its invention enabled cold atomic gases to become the dominant part of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics that it is today.

Reçu le :
Accepté le :
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DOI : 10.5802/crphys.172
Keywords: Jean Dalibard, magneto-optical trap, MOT, laser cooling and trapping, radiation pressure trap, optical Earnshaw theorem
Mot clés : Jean Dalibard, piège magnéto-optique, PMO, refroidissement et piégeage par laser, piège à pression de radiation, théorème d’Earnshaw optique
William Phillips 1

1 Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8424, USA
Licence : CC-BY 4.0
Droits d'auteur : Les auteurs conservent leurs droits 
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William Phillips. Historical foreword: Jean Dalibard, the magneto-optical trap, and the ascent of physics with cold atomic gases. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Online first (2023), pp. 1-9. doi : 10.5802/crphys.172.

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[18] D. Wineland; H. Dehmelt Proposed 10 14 Δν<ν laser fluorescence spectroscopy on TI+ mono-ion oscillator III, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc., Volume 20 (1975), p. 637

[19] P. Lett; R. Watts; C. Westbrook; W. Phillips; P. Gould; H. Metcalf Observation of Atoms Laser Cooled below the Doppler Limit, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 61 (1988), pp. 169-172 | DOI

[20] C. Salomon; J. Dalibard; W. Phillips; A. Clairon; S. Guellati Laser cooling of cesium atoms below 3 microkelvin, Eur. Phys. Lett., Volume 12 (1990), pp. 683-688 | DOI

[21] J. Dalibard; C. Cohen-Tannoudji Laser cooling below the Doppler limit by polarization gradients: simple theoretical models, J. Opt. Soc. B, Volume 6 (1989), pp. 2023-2045 | DOI

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