  We demonstrate a simple and compact approach to laser cool and trap atoms
based on laser-induced thermal ablation (LITA) of a pure solid granule. A rapid
thermalisation of the granule leads to a fast recovery of the ultra-high vacuum
condition required for a long trapping lifetime of the cold gas. We give a
proof-of-concept of the technique, performing a magneto-optical trap on the 461
nm $^1S_0\rightarrow^1P_1$ transition of strontium. We get up to 3.5 million of
cold strontium-88 atoms with a trapping lifetime of more than 4 s. The lifetime
is limited by the pressure of the strontium-free residual background vapour. We
also implement an original configuration of permanent magnets to create the
quadruple magnetic field of the magneto-optical trap. The LITA technique can be
generalized to other atomic elements such as transition metals and lanthanide
atoms, and shows a strong potential for applications in quantum technologies
ranging from quantum computing to precision measurements such as outdoor
inertial sensing.
