Subrecoil laser cooling dynamics: a fractional derivative approach

The subrecoil laser cooling process is considered in the framework of a model with two states (trapping and recycling), with instantaneous transitions between them. The key point of the work is the use of a fractional exponential function for waiting time distributions. This allows us to derive a general master equation covering both important cases: those with exponential and power type tails. Their solutions are expressed through fractionally stable distributions. The pdfs of the total trapping time of an atom and the proportion of trapped atoms are found. Analytical relationships show a good agreement with numerical results from Monte Carlo simulation.