Our latest work titled “Two-color magneto-optical trapping of ytterbium atoms” has been published in Physical Review Applied today. In this study, we demonstrate a two-color magneto-optical trap (MOT) for ytterbium atoms that combines a broad 1S0-1P1 transition and a narrow intercombination 1S0-3P1 transition, enabling both rapid loading and efficient cooling. We systematically investigate the shielding effect of the intercombination transition and analyze one-body and two-body loss mechanisms. As shown in the loading curves below, the two-color scheme enhances the loading rate and increases the steady-state atom number. This approach provides a robust method for preparing scalable cold atoms and is also applicable to other alkaline-earth-like atoms. The paper is available now online https://journals.aps.org/prapplied/pdf/10.1103/541j-2sj9.
