Abstract

The recoil effects of spontaneous photon emissions during optical pumping of a trapped three-level atom are exactly calculated. Without resort to the Lamb-Dicke approximation, and considering arbitrary detuning and saturation of the pump laser, the density of recoil shifts in phase space is derived. It is shown that this density is not of Gaussian shape, and that it becomes isotropic in phase space only for a branching ratio corresponding to fluorescence scattering but unfavorable for optical pumping. The dependence of its anisotropy on the laser saturation is discussed in the resonant case, and the mapping of moments of the atom's center-of-mass motion due to the pumping is presented. Moreover, it is shown how optimum parameters for protecting the center-of-mass quantum state from pump-induced disturbance depend on the specific property to be protected. © 2008 The American Physical Society.