Transport of launched cold atoms with a laser guide and pulsed magnetic fields

We propose the novel combination of a laser guide and magnetic lens to transport a cold atomic cloud. We have modelled the loading and guiding of a launched cloud of cold atoms with the optical dipole force. We discuss the optimum strategy for loading typically 30% of the atoms from a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and guiding them vertically through 22 cm. However, although the atoms are tightly confined transversely, thermal expansion in the propagation direction still results in a density loss of two orders of magnitude. By combining the laser guide with a single impulse from a magnetic lens we show one can actually increase the density of the guided atoms by a factor of 10.