arXiv:1104.1009 · New Journal of Physics
Production of sodium Bose–Einstein condensates in an optical dimple trap
David Jacob, E Mimoun, L. De Sarlo, Martin Weitz, Jean Dalibard, Fabrice Gerbier
Abstract
We report on the realization of a sodium Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in a combined red-detuned optical dipole trap formed by two beams crossing in a horizontal plane and a third, tightly focused dimple trap (dT) propagating vertically. We produce a BEC in three main steps: loading of the crossed dipole trap from laser-cooled atoms, an intermediate evaporative cooling stage that results in efficient loading of the auxiliary dT, and a final evaporative cooling stage in the dT. Our protocol is implemented in a compact setup and allows us to reach quantum degeneracy even with relatively modest initial atom numbers and available laser power.