Magneto-optical trapping of cadmium

We report the laser cooling and confinement of Cd atoms in a magneto-optical trap and characterize the loading process from the background Cd vapor. The trapping laser drives the S-1(0)-> P-1(1) transition at 229 nm in this two-electron atom and also photoionizes atoms directly from the P-1(1) state. This photoionization overwhelms the other loss mechanisms and allows a direct measurement of the photoionization cross section, which we measure to be 2(1)x10(-16) cm(2) from the P-1(1) state. When combined with nearby laser-cooled and trapped Cd+ ions, this apparatus could facilitate studies in ultracold interactions between atoms and ions.