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Consider equal opposing laser beams along the $x$ axis and an atom with velocity $v$. Let ${\omega }_L$ be their angular frequency, ${\omega }_0$ the atomic resonance angular frequency, $k=2\pi /\lambda >0$ their wavenumber, and $\delta ={\omega }_L-{\omega }_0$ the laser detuning. Red detuning means $\delta <0$. To first order in $v/c$, the atom seesFor small positive $v$, the beam travelling towards negative $x$ is closer to resonance and causes more photon absorption; its momentum kicks point against $v$. The beam travelling towards positive $x$ is further from resonance. Reversing $v$ exchanges the roles of the two beams. This is a Doppler effect on the absorption rates, rather than a need to follow each atom with a moving beam.

An absorbed photon gives the atom momentum $\pm \hslash k$, where $\hslash =h/(2\pi )$ is the reduced Planck constant. Subsequent spontaneous emission gives a recoil opposite to the emitted photon. For an emission pattern symmetric under reversal of direction, that recoil has zero expected value, but nonzero variance. Its mean therefore leaves the directional absorption force intact, while its randomness adds recoil energy. Random absorption times and choices of beam add further momentum fluctuations. Zero mean recoil does not mean zero heating.

Use a closed two-level system with spontaneous emission population decay $P_e(t)=P_e(0)e^{-\Gamma t}$. Here $\Gamma$ is a decay rate in inverse seconds and also the full width at half maximum of the natural linewidth expressed in angular frequency. The corresponding full width in hertz is $\Gamma /(2\pi )$; the angular half width is $\Gamma /2$. These conventions determine every factor of two and $2\pi$ below.

Let $s$ be the on-resonance saturation parameter of each beam, with total excitation weak enough that saturation and coherent coupling between beams can be neglected. The independent-beam scattering rates and net force areThe force is the photon momentum per absorption multiplied by the difference in absorption rates. With dimensionless laser detuning $d=\delta /\Gamma$ and dimensionless velocity $u=kv/\Gamma$, writeFor the example $d=-0.5$ and $u=0.25$, the positive and negative beam factors are respectively $4/13$ and $4/5$. Thus $F(0.25)=-32/65\simeq -0.4923$: the atom is moving right and the net force points left. All values in this example are dimensionless.

Subtracting the two fractions gives an especially useful sign check:For red detuning, the force opposes nonzero $v$ throughout this ideal model; its useful magnitude eventually falls at large $|u|$. Near zero, a Taylor series gives dampingAt $d=-0.5$, $F^{\prime }(0)=-2$ and $\alpha =\hslash k^{2}s$. For blue detuning the sign reverses and the small-velocity motion is amplified; at exact resonance the opposing mean forces cancel in this symmetric model. Its derivation assumes weak excitation, a closed two-level system, equal beam intensities and nonrelativistic velocities; real multilevel atoms need additional physics.

Damping removes random kinetic energy, but the discrete photon kicks cause diffusion in momentum. Their balance gives a nonzero temperature. Define the momentum diffusion coefficient $D_p$ by the noise contribution $d⟨p_x^2⟩/dt=2D_p$. With atom mass $m$ and linear damping coefficient $\alpha$,at stationary balance, where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant and mean momentum is zero.

For ideal three-dimensional optical molasses with three identical independent beam pairs and isotropic spontaneous emission, the $x$-pair absorption rate at rest is $R_x=\Gamma s/(1+4d^2)$. Absorption from that pair contributes $(\hslash k{)}^2{R}_x$ to the noise growth of $⟨p_x^2⟩$. Emission from all three pairs contributes the same amount: its total rate is $3R_x$ and each emitted photon has mean squared $x$-momentum $(\hslash k{)}^2/3$. Hence $D_p=(\hslash k{)}^2{R}_x$. Using the Doppler cooling force coefficient givesPut $a=-d>0$. Then $(1+4d^2)/(-d)=a^{-1}+4a\ge 4$, with equality at $a=1/2$. The ideal weak-field Doppler cooling limit is therefore $T_D=\hslash \Gamma /(2k_B)$ at $\delta =-\Gamma /2$. It is the minimum of this specified diffusion-and-damping model, rather than a universal lower bound for laser cooling. The diffusion approximation also assumes recoil energy much smaller than $\hslash \Gamma$. In a one-pair geometry, emission patterns and transverse recoil change the diffusion bookkeeping. ^[ref].

Laser cooling uses laser light to reduce the random velocities of chemical atoms, and therefore their translational temperature. The striking ingredient is selective photon absorption: an atom moving towards a beam sees a Doppler shift that can make it absorb more strongly. Each absorbed photon transfers momentum along the beam; repeated absorption and spontaneous emission can then remove kinetic energy. Doppler cooling makes this selection with the atom's motion, while sub-Doppler cooling also exploits its internal quantum states.

Cooling makes chemical atoms move slowly enough for longer interrogation in atomic clocks and atom interferometry, and easier loading into an optical trap. The same radiation pressure that pushes an atom can cool it: with suitably tuned opposing beams, whichever direction the atom moves, it receives the stronger push against that motion.

For a closed two-level system with spontaneous emission population decay $P_e(t)=P_e(0)e^{-\Gamma t}$ and no additional dephasing, the natural linewidth has full width at half maximum $\Gamma$ in angular frequency, or $\Gamma /(2\pi )$ in hertz. The excited-state lifetime is $1/\Gamma$.

Optical pumping redistributes populations among internal quantum states by selective photon absorption followed by spontaneous emission. It can prepare atoms for measurement and participate in sub-Doppler cooling.

Spontaneous emission is radiative decay of an excited matter quantum state by emission of a photon, without an applied resonant drive. In a simple Markov decay model the excited-level population obeys ${\dot{P}}_e=-\Gamma P_e$. During driven control, the expected emission count is governed by $\Gamma \int P_e(t)dt$; suppressing the lossy level's population is therefore the purpose of dark-state adiabatic transfer.

Stimulated emission is emission induced by incident light, in contrast with the unprompted decay in spontaneous emission. It supplies the amplification mechanism of a laser. ^[ref].

For an emitter with upper and lower energy values $E_2>E_1$, the resonant photon has frequency $\nu$ satisfyingwhere $h$ is the Planck constant. In the elementary photon picture, an incident photon stimulates an emitter in the upper quantum state to emit an additional photon into the same optical normal mode, with the same frequency, propagation direction and photon polarization. The emitter supplies the extra energy; the stimulating photon is not consumed. This builds the existing field and its optical coherence. An emitter in the lower quantum state can instead undergo photon absorption, so stimulated emission alone does not establish net optical gain.

For example, a $2.0\mathrm{eV}$ gap corresponds to $\nu \approx 4.8360\times 10^{14}\mathrm{Hz}$ and a vacuum wavelength of about $620\mathrm{nm}$. One ideal stimulated emission event converts one incoming photon into two outgoing photons in the selected optical normal mode, adding $2.0\mathrm{eV}$ of light energy while lowering the emitter's energy by that amount.