Cooling and trapping of Rb85 atoms in the ground hyperfine F=2 state

We report cooling and trapping of Rb85 atoms in the lower hyperfine level F=2 of the 5S1/22 ground state in a magneto-optical trap. A maximum of ∼6×10⁶ atoms could be trapped using trap laser frequency red detuned by 12MHz from the F=2→F^'=1 cycling transition. The loading behavior of the trap in terms of loading rate, collisional loss rate, number and density of trapped atoms was studied as a function of trap laser intensity.