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I have been researching ion traps (of singular atoms) recently and have become curious about neutral atom trapping and in particular if it is possible to trap neutral atoms while they are "hot". Furthermore, I wonder if it is possible that a "hot" ion/atom (neutral) could be trapped in a small volume while still being "hot".

When I refer to "hot" I mean the atoms have not been cooled and therefore slowed by the trapping method, hence a "hot" atom is fast-moving such as a room-temperature gas.

From my research it seems all trapping methods cool atoms /ions, hence my question is:

Can we contain neutral atoms in dense regions (low volumes) while they still maintain a high collision frequency / higher temperature?

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enter image description here

Sorry, couldn't resist. To get a more serious answer than this I think the question needs to be more clear on what the goals/constraints are in terms of trapping hot neutral atoms.

Actually, thinking about this a little more: Check out blue box traps: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2106.09716.pdf detuned optical fields can be used to trap neutral atoms. Typically you take a laser beam, red detune it from a transition, and then the atom is attracted to a point of high intensity, like the focus.

But, in these blue box traps, you can blue detune the beam so that it is repulsive. You can then surround a region of space with blue detuned beams so that the atoms travel freely within the volume but are repelled from the boundary. The trapping potential depends on the laser intensity, so higher intensity can trap hotter atoms. I think in principle you can trap room temperature neutral atoms.

The jpg at the top of this answer is still the correct answer though :)

Jagerber48
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No, you can't.

The reason is that, whatever you want to trap, you have to have some interaction with it.

If the particle is ionized, electro-magnetic fields will do the trick. If it is not, other forces could do, but we do not have technology to use weak atomic force or something else. If anyway about room temperature, the atom will collide against a wall, consisting of other atoms and will be repelled by electro-magnetic generated by those atoms. No way, up to today's knowledge, that you can do it to neutrons (which in some sense are the most simple neutral "atoms").

Gyro Gearloose
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