Optical dipole trapping beyond the rotating wave approximation: the case of large detuning

Abstract

We show that the inclusion of counter-rotating terms, usually dropped in evaluations of the interaction of an electric dipole of a two-level atom with the electromagnetic field, leads to significant modifications of the trapping potential in the case of large detuning. The results are shown to be in excellent numerical agreement with recent experimental findings for the case of modes of Laguerre–Gauss spatial profile.