or improving the results are being investigated/used by several ion-trapping groups. Example: Raman sideband cooling of atoms A Raman transition replaces the one-photon transition used in the sideband above by a two-photon process via a virtual level. In the cooling experiment carried out by Hamann et al., trapping is provided by an isotropic optical lattice in a magnetic field, which also provides Raman coupling to the red sideband of the Zeeman manifolds. The process followed in is: preparation of cold sample of atoms is carried out in optical molasses, in a magneto-optic trap atoms are allowed to occupy a 2D, near resonance lattice the lattice is changed adiabatically to a far off resonance lattice, which leaves the sample sufficiently well cooled for sideband cooling to be effective (Lamb-Dicke regime) a magnetic field is turned on to tune the Raman coupling to the red motional sideband relaxation between the hyperfine states is provided by a pump/repump laser pair after some time, pumping is intensified to transfer the population to a specific hyperfine state lattice is turned off and time of flight techniques are employed to perform Stern-Gerlach analysis See also Laser cooling Amplitude modulation References Laser applications Cooling technology Atomic physics Plasma physics