We present a scattering model which enables us to describe the mechanical force, including the velocity dependent component, exerted by light on polarizable massive objects in a general one-dimensional optical system. We show that the light field in an interferometer can be very sensitive to the velocity of a moving scatterer. We construct a new efficient cooling scheme, 'external cavity cooling', in which the scatterer, that can be an atom or a moving micromirror, is spatially separated from the cavity.

Date Published: 8 February 2011
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 7951, Laser Refrigeration of Solids IV, 79510B (8 February 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.880045

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7951:
Laser Refrigeration of Solids IV
Richard Epstein; Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, Editor(s)