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We have produced and characterised a slow, bright and intense atomic beam of metastable helium atoms, suitable for atomic physics experiments. The maximum continuous flux attained was 2×1010 atoms/s, while a typical longitudinal peak velocity of the beam was ∼26 m/s with a divergence in the range of 15 mrad to 30 mrad.

We have developed a novel, high flux source of metastable rare gas atoms (helium, neon and argon) that uses liquid helium cooling to reduce the initial atomic velocity. Fluxes exceeding 1014 atoms/ster/s with He and Ne were obtained. With average velocities of ∼600 m/s for He and ∼300 m/s for Ne and Ar, this source will enable simpler, more compact beam lines for loading magneto-optical traps.