We analyze a simple macroscopic model describing the evolution of a cloud of particles confined in a magneto-optical trap. The behavior of the particles is mainly driven by self-consistent attractive forces. In contrast to the standard model of gravitational forces, the force field does not result from a potential; moreover, the nonlinear coupling is more singular than the coupling based on the Poisson equation. We establish the existence of solutions under a suitable smallness condition on the total mass or, equivalently, for a sufficiently large diffusion coefficient. When a symmetry assumption is fulfilled, the solutions satisfy strengthened estimates (exponential moments). We also investigate the convergence of the $ N$-particles description towards the PDE system in the mean field regime.