High flux source of cold rubidium atoms

We report on the production of a continuous, slow, and cold beam of Rb 87 atoms with an extremely high flux of 3.2 × 10 12 atoms ∕ s , a transverse temperature of 3 mK , and a longitudinal temperature of 90 mK . We describe the apparatus created to generate the atom beam. Hot atoms are emitted from a rubidium candlestick atomic beam source and transversely cooled and collimated by a 20 cm long atomic collimator section, boosting overall beam flux by a factor of 50. The Rb atomic beam is then decelerated and longitudinally cooled by a 1 m long Zeeman slower.