Theory of a radiative atomic trap

A theory of atomic motion in arbitrary resonant laser fields is put forward. It is shown that when the natural line width of an atomic transition is greater than the recoil energy, the microscopic equations for the atomic density matrix can be reduced to the Fokker–Planck equation for the atomic distribution function and, in the case of slow atoms, the latter can be reduced to the Smoluchowski equation for the atomic density. The macroscopic Smoluchowski equation is used to find laser field configurations which ensure stable trapping of atoms. An extremely simple radiative atomic trap is described and its main parameters are given.