Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences

The creation and study of Bose-Einstein condensation in a dilute atomic vapour

Carl Wieman

Published Dec 15, 1997• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

I will discuss the work of the JILA/University of Colorado group on the creation and study of Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) in a gas of very cold rubidium atoms. Over the years, a large number of students and postdocs have contributed to this work, with Eric Cornell and myself as the coleaders of the project. The data reported in this paper were obtained by Mike Anderson, Eric Burt, Jason Ensher, Rich Ghrist, Deborah Jin, Mike Matthews and Chris Myatt. Theoretical contributions have been provided by Murray Holland, Jinx Cooper, Brett Esry and Chris Greene. In the first part of this paper, I will briefly discuss how we create and observe BEC; in the second portion, I will discuss some of the work on BEC that has been carried out at JILA in the past year.

DOI
10.1098/rsta.1997.0123

Related papers

Atoms lose their identity

D. R. Meacher, P. A. Ruprecht

The phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), first predicted by Einstein 70 years ago, has finally been observed in the laboratory. In this elusive state of matter the concept of individual particles ceases to have meaning: the atoms condense into the same quantum state and act as a single entity that displays quantum mechanical behaviour on a macroscopic scale. The condensate was observed when Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman and colleagues at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in Boulder, Colorado, cooled a dilute gas of rubidium atoms, confined in a magnetic trap, to a temperature of just a few nanoKelvin (M H Anderson et al. 1995 Science 269 198).

Physics World•Aug 1, 1995•0 citations

Nobel Lecture: Bose-Einstein condensation in a dilute gas, the first 70 years and some recent experiments

Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman

Bose-Einstein condensation, or BEC, has a long and rich history dating from the early 1920s. In this article we will trace briefly over this history and some of the developments in physics that made possible our successful pursuit of BEC in a gas. We will then discuss what was involved in this quest. In this discussion we will go beyond the usual technical description to try and address certain questions that we now hear frequently, but are not covered in our past research papers. These are questions along the lines of: How did you get the idea and decide to pursue it? Did you know it was going to work? How long did it take you and why? We will review some our favorites from among the experiments we have carried out with BEC. There will then be a brief encore on why we are optimistic that BEC can be created with nearly any species of magnetically trappable atom. Throughout this article we will try to explain what makes BEC in a dilute gas so interesting, unique, and experimentally ${\mathrm{challenging}.}^{1}$

Reviews of Modern Physics•Aug 19, 2002•837 citations

BEC Blossoms at EPS-10

Jook T. M. Walraven

BEC Blossoms at EPS-10 J.T.M. Walraven, who chaired the EPS-10 symposium Bose-Einstein Condensation, reports that one year after its first observation at JILA in Boulder, Colorado, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in dilute gases continues to amaze the physics community.The three groups (all US based) which are presently collecting BEC data came to EPS-10 to establish the state-of-theart.If one thing became clear, then it is that BEC is shaking up the field of boson quantum fluids, after liquid helium-4 has dominated the scene for more than half-a-century.

Europhysics news•Jan 1, 1996•2 citations

Universality and Bose-Einstein Condensation: Perspectives on Recent Work

D. W. Snoke, Nick P. Proukakis, Thierry Giamarchi +1 more

The study of Bose-Einstein condensation has undergone a remarkable expansion during the last twenty years. Observations of this phenomenon have been reported in a number of diverse atomic, optical, and condensed matter systems, facilitated by remarkable experimental advances. The synergy of experimental and theoretical work in this broad research area is unique, leading to the establishment of Bose-Einstein condensation as a universal interdisciplinary area of modern physics. This chapter reviews the broad expansion of Bose-Einstein condensation physics in the past two decades. Introduction The field of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has undergone an explosive expansion during the past twenty years. Newcomers to this field are now often introduced to this as a universal phenomenon, which nonetheless exhibits diverse (and sometimes strikingly different) manifestations. Despite such differences, the common underlying theme creates a unique identity across many different energy and length scales. The study of BEC as a universal phenomenon was highlighted in a focused conference in 1993, leading to the publication of the well-known “green book” [1], which surveyed the breadth of the field of condensate physics at that time. The success of the conference led to a second meeting in 1995, at which Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman announced the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation of ultracold 87 Rb atoms in a harmonic trap. That work began an explosion of new research in the field of cold atoms, which has continued to this day, and this very success inevitably led many of those studying cold atoms to pay less attention to other types of condensates. Wolfgang Ketterle gives a historical overview of this exciting period of time in Chapter 3. Recently, various scientific meetings have worked to re-establish the physical connections across different BEC systems, and in 2013 a workshop was held with the focused goal of improving communications across disciplines. This present book is an outgrowth of that meeting. The Situation Before the Revolution Because of the great success of the cold atom BEC and other BEC systems in the past twenty years, it may be hard for young scientists to understand the climate of BEC research in the early 1990s. At that time, there was only one known example of BEC, namely liquid helium-4, and there was a small but vocal minority of scientists who questioned whether BEC was established even in that system.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Oct 4, 2018•1 citation

BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION IN A DILUTE GAS: THE FIRST 70 YEARS AND SOME RECENT EXPERIMENTS

Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman

Bose-Einstein condensation, or BEC, has a long and rich history dating from the early 1920s. In this article we will trace briefly over this history and some of the developments in physics that made possible our successful pursuit of BEC in a gas. We will then discuss what was involved in this quest. In this discussion we will go beyond the usual technical description to try and address certain questions that we now hear frequently, but are not covered in our past research papers. These are questions along the lines of "How did you get the idea and decide to pursue it? Did you know it was going to work? How long did it take you and why?" We will review some of our favorites from among the experiments we have carried out with BEC. There will then be a brief encore on why we are optimistic that BEC can be created with nearly any species of magnetically trappable atom. Throughout this article we will try to explain what makes BEC in a dilute gas so interesting, unique, and experimentally challenging.

International Journal of Modern Physics B•Nov 30, 2002•54 citations

Yes, cold-atom condensates are interesting and useful

Charles Day

When Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman made the first Bose–Einstein condensate from a gas of cold rubidium-87 atoms in 1995, I was excited and impressed. Conceptually, BECs are simple enough to have been included in my undergraduate quantum mechanics course. But making one—what a feat!

Physics Today•Sep 9, 2010•0 citations
I will discuss the work of the JILA/University of Colorado group on the creation and study of Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) in a gas of very cold rubidium atoms. Over the years, a large number of students and postdocs have contributed to this work, with Eric Cornell and myself as the coleaders of the project. The data reported in this paper were obtained by Mike Anderson, Eric Burt, Jason Ensher, Rich Ghrist, Deborah Jin, Mike Matthews and Chris Myatt. Theoretical contributions have been provided by Murray Holland, Jinx Cooper, Brett Esry and Chris Greene. In the first part of this paper, I will briefly discuss how we create and observe BEC; in the second portion, I will discuss some of the work on BEC that has been carried out at JILA in the past year.
The phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), first predicted by Einstein 70 years ago, has finally been observed in the laboratory. In this elusive state of matter the concept of individual particles ceases to have meaning: the atoms condense into the same quantum state and act as a single entity that displays quantum mechanical behaviour on a macroscopic scale. The condensate was observed when Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman and colleagues at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in Boulder, Colorado, cooled a dilute gas of rubidium atoms, confined in a magnetic trap, to a temperature of just a few nanoKelvin (M H Anderson et al. 1995 Science 269 198).
Bose-Einstein condensation, or BEC, has a long and rich history dating from the early 1920s. In this article we will trace briefly over this history and some of the developments in physics that made possible our successful pursuit of BEC in a gas. We will then discuss what was involved in this quest. In this discussion we will go beyond the usual technical description to try and address certain questions that we now hear frequently, but are not covered in our past research papers. These are questions along the lines of: How did you get the idea and decide to pursue it? Did you know it was going to work? How long did it take you and why? We will review some our favorites from among the experiments we have carried out with BEC. There will then be a brief encore on why we are optimistic that BEC can be created with nearly any species of magnetically trappable atom. Throughout this article we will try to explain what makes BEC in a dilute gas so interesting, unique, and experimentally challenging.1{\mathrm{challenging}.}^{1}challenging.1
BEC Blossoms at EPS-10 J.T.M. Walraven, who chaired the EPS-10 symposium Bose-Einstein Condensation, reports that one year after its first observation at JILA in Boulder, Colorado, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in dilute gases continues to amaze the physics community.The three groups (all US based) which are presently collecting BEC data came to EPS-10 to establish the state-of-theart.If one thing became clear, then it is that BEC is shaking up the field of boson quantum fluids, after liquid helium-4 has dominated the scene for more than half-a-century.
The study of Bose-Einstein condensation has undergone a remarkable expansion during the last twenty years. Observations of this phenomenon have been reported in a number of diverse atomic, optical, and condensed matter systems, facilitated by remarkable experimental advances. The synergy of experimental and theoretical work in this broad research area is unique, leading to the establishment of Bose-Einstein condensation as a universal interdisciplinary area of modern physics. This chapter reviews the broad expansion of Bose-Einstein condensation physics in the past two decades. Introduction The field of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has undergone an explosive expansion during the past twenty years. Newcomers to this field are now often introduced to this as a universal phenomenon, which nonetheless exhibits diverse (and sometimes strikingly different) manifestations. Despite such differences, the common underlying theme creates a unique identity across many different energy and length scales. The study of BEC as a universal phenomenon was highlighted in a focused conference in 1993, leading to the publication of the well-known “green book” [1], which surveyed the breadth of the field of condensate physics at that time. The success of the conference led to a second meeting in 1995, at which Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman announced the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation of ultracold 87 Rb atoms in a harmonic trap. That work began an explosion of new research in the field of cold atoms, which has continued to this day, and this very success inevitably led many of those studying cold atoms to pay less attention to other types of condensates. Wolfgang Ketterle gives a historical overview of this exciting period of time in Chapter 3. Recently, various scientific meetings have worked to re-establish the physical connections across different BEC systems, and in 2013 a workshop was held with the focused goal of improving communications across disciplines. This present book is an outgrowth of that meeting. The Situation Before the Revolution Because of the great success of the cold atom BEC and other BEC systems in the past twenty years, it may be hard for young scientists to understand the climate of BEC research in the early 1990s. At that time, there was only one known example of BEC, namely liquid helium-4, and there was a small but vocal minority of scientists who questioned whether BEC was established even in that system.
Bose-Einstein condensation, or BEC, has a long and rich history dating from the early 1920s. In this article we will trace briefly over this history and some of the developments in physics that made possible our successful pursuit of BEC in a gas. We will then discuss what was involved in this quest. In this discussion we will go beyond the usual technical description to try and address certain questions that we now hear frequently, but are not covered in our past research papers. These are questions along the lines of "How did you get the idea and decide to pursue it? Did you know it was going to work? How long did it take you and why?" We will review some of our favorites from among the experiments we have carried out with BEC. There will then be a brief encore on why we are optimistic that BEC can be created with nearly any species of magnetically trappable atom. Throughout this article we will try to explain what makes BEC in a dilute gas so interesting, unique, and experimentally challenging.