Momentum diffusion of atoms moving in laser fields

The momentum diffusion coefficient, as a function of position and velocity, is discussed for two-state atoms travelling through a standing-wave laser field. Equations leading to the force and diffusion coefficient have been obtained by Minogin. The authors present an alternative derivation, based on moments of the Wigner function and give numerical solutions in terms of matrix continued fractions. In strong fields, the discussion is supplemented by a derivation of the diffusion coefficient within the dressed-atom basis, and a picture of the diffusion mechanism emerges which is quite different from the one at low intensities. Calculated forces and diffusion coefficients are used in a Fokker-Planck equation to obtain stationary atomic velocity distributions.