Spatio‐Temporal Monte Carlo Modelling of Collisional Processes in Loading and Decay of an Optical Dipole Trap

ABSTRACT We present our studies on intra‐trap dynamics of an optical dipole trap loaded from a Magneto‐optical trap of atoms. A spatio‐temporal Monte Carlo simulation approach has been employed in conjunction with the semi‐classical theory based calculations for the estimation of various intra‐trap two‐body loss parameters in the optical dipole trap. Our methodology gives a close estimation of the experimentally observed the atom‐number evolution in the optical dipole trap. We also find that, the decay rate of atoms in an optical dipole trap is dominated by momentum‐transfer elastic collisions due to the absence of Magneto‐optical trap beams. However, in presence of Magneto‐optical trap beams, the radiative escape process is the dominant two‐body loss mechanism in the trap, which surpasses the fine‐structure changing and hyperfine changing collisional losses by nearly an order of magnitude.