Cold Collisions Between Magnesium Atoms

Cold collisions between neutral atoms in the presence of laser light have been studied actively both experimentally and theoretically in magneto-optical traps. So far comparisons between experimental and theoretical results have been often complicated by the large number of the collisional molecular states, as typically both fine and hyperfine structure are present. However, the major isotopes of alkaline earth atoms (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) are spinless, and thus lack the hyperfine structure. Thus they offer an excellent and previously rather unexplored testing ground for cold collision theories. We present some predictions for the loss of Mg atoms from a magneto-optical trap at small laser intensities and detunings.