Velocity-selective coherent population trapping of two-level atoms

We have demonstrated velocity-selective coherent population trapping (VSCPT) in a two-level system created by circularly polarized light driving the 2³S₁→3³P₂ transition in metastable helium. It is quite different from the usual VSCPT because there need be no consideration of selection rules, polarization, or internal atomic states. This most primitive case elicits the simple nature of VSCPT as a special kind of quantum interference, and demonstrates the presence of VSCPT in a system that has only two internal levels. It is readily observed for this transition because the ratio of the recoil frequency to the natural linewidth is 0.22, two orders of magnitude larger than for most laser cooling experiments. Our trapped state is fed by Doppler cooling, which is unusually effective here because of the large recoil, and is totally absent in previously described VSCPT experiments.