  A technique is proposed to cool Fermi gases to the regime of quantum
degeneracy based on the expected inhibition of spontaneous emission due to the
Pauli principle. The reduction of the linewidth for spontaneous emission
originates a corresponding reduction of the Doppler temperature, which under
specific conditions may give rise to a runaway process through which fermions
are progressively cooled. The approach requires a combination of a
magneto-optical trap as a cooling system and an optical dipole trap to enhance
quantum degeneracy. This results in expected Fermi degeneracy factors $T/T_F$
comparable to the lowest values recently achieved, with potential for a direct
implementation in optical lattices. The experimental demonstration of this
technique should also indirectly provide a macroscopic manifestation of the
Pauli exclusion principle at the atomic physics level.
