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arXiv:2406.16488 · Physical Review A

All-optical production of Bose-Einstein condensates with a 2-Hz repetition rate

Mareike Hetzel, Martin Quensen, J Haase, Carsten Klempt

Published Jun 3, 2025• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of neutral atoms constitute an important quantum system for fundamental research and precision metrology. Many applications require short preparation times of BECs, for example, for optimized data acquisition rates in scientific applications, and reduced dead times and improved bandwidths for atomic quantum sensors. Here, we report on the generation of rubidium BECs with a repetition rate of more than 2 Hz . The system relies on forced evaporation in a dynamically adjusted optical potential, which is created by the spatial modulation of laser beams. Our system provides a versatile source of the ubiquitous rubidium BECs, and promotes their exploitation for high-precision atom interferometers.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.111.l061301

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Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of neutral atoms constitute an important quantum system for fundamental research and precision metrology. Many applications require short preparation times of BECs, for example, for optimized data acquisition rates in scientific applications, and reduced dead times and improved bandwidths for atomic quantum sensors. Here, we report on the generation of rubidium BECs with a repetition rate of more than 2 Hz . The system relies on forced evaporation in a dynamically adjusted optical potential, which is created by the spatial modulation of laser beams. Our system provides a versatile source of the ubiquitous rubidium BECs, and promotes their exploitation for high-precision atom interferometers.
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We present an experimental apparatus that produces Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of 87^{87}87Rb atoms at a rate of 1 Hz. As a demonstration of the system's ability to operate continuously, 30 BECs were produced and imaged in 32.1 s. Without imaging, a single BEC could be produced in 953 ms. The system uses an atom chip to confine atoms in a dimple trap with frequencies exceeding 1 kHz. With this tight trap, the duration of evaporative cooling was reduced to less than 0.5 s. Using principal component analysis, insight into the largest sources of noise and drift was obtained by extracting the dominant contributions to the variance. The system utilizes a compact physics package that can be integrated with lasers and electronics to create a transportable ultracold-atom device for applications outside of a laboratory environment.
Quantum sensors based on coherent matter-waves are precise measurement devices whose ultimate accuracy is achieved with Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in extended free fall. This is ideally realized in microgravity environments such as drop towers, ballistic rockets and space platforms. However, the transition from lab-based BEC machines to robust and mobile sources with comparable performance is a challenging endeavor. Here we report on the realization of a miniaturized setup, generating a flux of quantum degenerate 87 Rb atoms every 1.6 s. Ensembles of atoms can be produced at a 1 Hz rate. This is achieved by loading a cold atomic beam directly into a multi-layer atom chip that is designed for efficient transfer from laser-cooled to magnetically trapped clouds. The attained flux of degenerate atoms is on par with current lab-based BEC experiments while offering significantly higher repetition rates. Additionally, the flux is approaching those of current interferometers employing Raman-type velocity selection of laser-cooled atoms. The compact and robust design allows for mobile operation in a variety of demanding environments and paves the way for transportable high-precision quantum sensors.
Quantum sensors based on coherent matter-waves are precise measurement devices whose ultimate accuracy is achieved with Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in extended free fall. This is ideally realized in microgravity environments such as drop towers, ballistic rockets and space platforms. However, the transition from lab-based BEC machines to robust and mobile sources with comparable performance is a challenging endeavor. Here we report on the realization of a miniaturized setup, generating a flux of 4x10(5) quantum degenerate Rb-87 atoms every 1.6 s. Ensembles of 1 x 10(5) atoms can be produced at a 1 Hz rate. This is achieved by loading a cold atomic beam directly into a multi-layer atom chip that is designed for efficient transfer from laser-cooled to magnetically trapped clouds. The attained flux of degenerate atoms is on par with current lab-based BEC experiments while offering significantly higher repetition rates. Additionally, the flux is approaching those of current interferometers employing Raman-type velocity selection of laser-cooled atoms. The compact and robust design allows for mobile operation in a variety of demanding environments and paves the way for transportable high-precision quantum sensors.
High data acquisition rates and low-noise detection of ultracold neutral atoms present important challenges for the state tomography and interferometric application of entangled quantum states in Bose-Einstein condensates. In this paper, we present a high-flux source of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates combined with a number-resolving detection. We create Bose-Einstein condensates of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$ atoms with no discernible thermal fraction within 3.3 s using a hybrid evaporation approach in a magnetic and optical trap. For the high-fidelity tomography of many-body quantum states in the spin degree of freedom [M. Hetzel, et al., arXiv:2207.01270], it is desirable to select a single mode for a number-resolving detection. We demonstrate the low-noise selection of subsamples of up to 16 atoms and their subsequent detection with a counting noise below 0.2 atoms. The presented techniques offer an exciting path towards the creation and analysis of mesoscopic quantum states with improved fidelities and towards their exploitation for fundamental and metrological applications.
Atom interferometers serve as high-precision sensors for quantities like acceleration, rotation, or magnetic fields. The sensitivity of atom interferometers is greatly enhanced by long interrogation times, as they are available in spaceborne applications. Second-long interrogation times favor the employment of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with their well-controlled spatial mode and their slow expansion rates. The sensitivity can be increased even further by employing squeezed atomic ensembles that enable measurements beyond the standards quantum limit. The INTENTAS project develops a source of entangled atoms that can be tested under microgravity conditions. Microgravity is provided by Hannover’s Einstein Elevator, which offers up to 4s of free fall. A key feature is the fast all-optical BEC generation which is performed in a crossed-beam optical dipole trap. In this poster, the status of the project will be presented, which includes operation in microgravity.