Bound and free atoms diagnosed by the recoil-induced resonances: 1D optical lattice in a working MOT

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We report on studies of simultaneous trapping of ⁸⁵Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and 1D optical lattice. Using Raman pump-probe spectroscopy we observe the coexistence of two atomic fractions: the first, which consists of free, unbound atoms trapped in a MOT and the second, localized in the micropotentials of the optical lattice. We show that recoil-induced resonances allow not only temperature determination of the atomic cloud but, together with vibrational resonances, can also be used for real-time, nondestructive studies of the lattice loading and of the dynamics of systems comprising unbound and bound atomic fractions.