Optical deceleration of atomic hydrogen

We will discuss a method for laser slowing of atomic hydrogen. The technique proceeds by first exciting a cryogenic beam of atomic hydrogen to the metastable 2S state. Atoms from this beam are then loaded into an optical lattice which is tuned near the 2S-4P transition. The lattice is moving at approximately the mean velocity of the beam and is capable of trapping atoms with velocities +-10 m/s of this velocity. The lattice is then rapidly decelerated using electro-optics to slow the trapped atoms. With this technique, we have observed accelerations of -10^9 m/s^2, and total velocity changes of about -15 m/s.