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DOE OSTI · 21454792

Efficient isotope separation by single-photon atomic sorting

Jerkins, M·Chavez, I·Raizen, M G·Even, U
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Abstract

We propose a general and scalable approach to isotope separation. The method is based on an irreversible change of the mass-to-magnetic moment ratio of a particular isotope in an atomic beam, followed by a magnetic multipole whose gradients deflect and guide the atoms. The underlying mechanism is a reduction of the entropy of the beam by the information of a single scattered photon for each atom that is separated. We numerically simulate isotope separation for a range of examples, which demonstrate this technique's general applicability to almost the entire periodic table. The practical importance of the proposed method is that large-scale isotope separation should be possible, using ordinary inexpensive magnets and the existing technologies of supersonic beams and lasers.

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74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICSATOM COLLISIONSATOMIC BEAMSATOMSBEAMSBOSONSCOLLISIONSELEMENTARY PARTICLESENTROPYINFORMATIONISOTOPE SEPARATIONLASERSMAGNETIC MOMENTSMASSMASSLESS PARTICLESPHOTON COLLISIONSPHOTON-ATOM COLLISIONSPHOTONSPHYSICAL PROPERTIESSEPARATION PROCESSESSORTINGTHERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES

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Jerkins, M, Chavez, I, Raizen, M G, Even, U. 2010-09-15. Efficient isotope separation by single-photon atomic sorting. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.82.033414

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