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European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)

Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Gas of Sodium Atoms

Kendall B. Davis, M.‐O. Mewes, Michael R. Andrews, N. J. van Druten, Dallin Durfee, Dan Stamper-Kurn, Wolfgang Ketterle

Published Jan 1, 1996• 175 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The study of BEC in weakly interacting system holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles, and may advance present understanding of superconductivity and superfluidity. By employing several new experimental techniques, the dark SPOT trap, rf induced evaporation, and the optically plugged magnetic trap, the authors were able to observe BEC in a gas of sodium atoms. The striking signature of Bose condensation was the sudden appearance of a bimodal velocity distribution below the critical temperature of {approximately} 2 {mu}K. The distribution consisted of an isotropic thermal distribution and an elliptical core attributed to the expansion of a dense condensate. Condensates contained up to 5 x 10{sup 5} atoms at densities exceeding 10{sup 14} cm{sup {minus}3}. Such high densities are unprecedented in cold atomic gases and open up new possibilities for studying a weakly interacting Bose gas over a broad range of densities and therefore strengths of interaction.

DOI
10.1109/eqec.1996.561567

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The study of BEC in weakly interacting system holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles, and may advance present understanding of superconductivity and superfluidity. By employing several new experimental techniques, the dark SPOT trap, rf induced evaporation, and the optically plugged magnetic trap, the authors were able to observe BEC in a gas of sodium atoms. The striking signature of Bose condensation was the sudden appearance of a bimodal velocity distribution below the critical temperature of {approximately} 2 {mu}K. The distribution consisted of an isotropic thermal distribution and an elliptical core attributed to the expansion of a dense condensate. Condensates contained up to 5 x 10{sup 5} atoms at densities exceeding 10{sup 14} cm{sup {minus}3}. Such high densities are unprecedented in cold atomic gases and open up new possibilities for studying a weakly interacting Bose gas over a broad range of densities and therefore strengths of interaction.
We have observed Bose-Einstein condensation of sodium atoms. The atoms were trapped in a novel trap that employed both magnetic and optical forces. Evaporative cooling increased the phase-space density by 6 orders of magnitude within seven seconds. Condensates contained up to 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}105{10}^{5}105 atoms at densities exceeding 1014{10}^{14}1014 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. The striking signature of Bose condensation was the sudden appearance of a bimodal velocity distribution below the critical temperature of \ensuremath{\sim}2\ensuremath{\mu}K. The distribution consisted of an isotropic thermal distribution and an elliptical core attributed to the expansion of a dense condensate.
Summary form only given. Bose-Einstein condensation (BEG) has been observed in a dilute gas of sodium atoms. A Bose-Einstein condensate consists of a macroscopic population of the ground state of the system and is a coherent state of matter. In an ideal gas, this phase transition is purely quantum statistical. The study of BEC in weakly interacting systems that can be controlled and observed with precision holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles.
We have achieved Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) [1,2] of Na atoms in an anisotropic TOP trap [3]. Our TOP trap has a bias field that rotates (at 20 kHz) in a plane containing the symmetry access of the quadrapole field, resulting in an anisotropic, time-averaged TOP potential with spring constants in the ratio of 1:2:4. A dark spot MOT is loaded from a Zeeman-cooled Na beam and the cloud of atoms are cooled in dark optical molasses. This produces a sample of −1010 atoms, mainly in the F = 1 hyperfine ground state at a temperature of −100 pK. We transfer about 1/3 of these atoms into a static quadrapole trap, trapping the F = 1, mF=−1 state. The quadrapole trap is stiffened to 1000 G/cm to increase the Na density and evaporated for 3 seconds with a linearly swept rf field. The TOP field is then turned on quickly to 150 G, producing a weak TOP trap. Further evaporation is performed by reducing the TOP field to 20 G, bringing in the circle of death. This 15 second evaporation period is followed by 10 seconds of rf induced evaporation, with BEC occuring at a temperature of ~1 μK, producing a condensate of ~3×106 atoms. By subsequently adiabatically expanding the trapping potential, we have reduced the temperature to −50 nK.
Superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in ultracold atomic gases represent macroscopic quantum phenomena arising from collective particle behavior at near-zero temperatures. Experimental realizations of BEC in alkali gases have enabled the observation of quantized vortices, matter-wave interference, and nonclassical excitations. This article reviews theoretical frameworks including Gross-Pitaevskii and Bogoliubov models, experimental techniques such as evaporative cooling and optical trapping, and computational approaches for simulating condensate dynamics. Two graphical analyses illustrate the condensate density profile and vortex lattice formation. Understanding these phenomena has implications for quantum simulation, atom interferometry, and exploration of quantum hydrodynamics.