Cline Julia R K, Schäfer Vera M, Niu Zhijing, Young Dylan J, Yoon Tai Hyun, Thompson James K
JILA, NIST, and Dept. of Physics, University of Colorado, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Max-Planck-Institut for Nuclear Physics, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Jan 10;134(1):013403. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.013403.
We demonstrate continuous loading and strong collective coupling of atoms to a high finesse ring cavity. A series of spatially separated laser cooling stages delivers a continuous flux of 2.1(3)×10^{7} ^{88}Sr atoms/s into an intracavity magic wavelength lattice where the atoms are deterministically transported inside the ring cavity. We observe a continuous atom-cavity vacuum Rabi splitting, demonstrating the first steady-state strong collective coupling on a narrow linewidth atomic transition. This Letter opens the path to future continuous cold atom devices, such as a continuous wave superradiant laser with millihertz linewidth and low vibration sensitivity, enabling searches for new physics and technologies.