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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Towards Bose-Einstein condensation with metastable helium atoms

S. Nowak, Antoine Browaeys, J. Poupard, A. Robert, Denis Boiron, Christoph Ira Westbrook, Alain Aspect

Published Jan 1, 2000• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Summary form only given. Until now Bose-Einstein condensation has only been achieved for atoms in the first group of the periodic table. The goal of our experiment is to obtain this phase transition in a gas of ultra-cold metastable (2 /sup 3/S/sub 1/) helium atoms, using a combination of laser cooling, magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling. Dense cold samples of metastable helium are a well-suited tool for surface potential studies and precision measurements.

DOI
10.1109/iqec.2000.907930

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We report the creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate using buffer-gas cooling, the first realization of Bose-Einstein condensation using a broadly general method which relies neither on laser cooling nor unique atom-surface properties. Metastable helium (\\(^4\\)He*) is buffer-gas cooled, magnetically trapped, and evaporatively cooled to quantum degeneracy. 10\\(^{11}\\) atoms are initially trapped, leading to Bose-Einstein condensation at a critical temperature of \\(5 \\mu K\\) and threshold atom number of 1.1×10\\(^6\\). This method is applicable to a wide array of paramagnetic atoms and molecules, many of which are impractical to laser cool and impossible to surface cool.
We report the creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate using buffer-gas cooling, the first realization of Bose-Einstein condensation using a broadly general method which relies neither on laser cooling nor unique atom-surface properties. Metastable helium ([superscript 4]He[superscript *]) is buffer-gas cooled, magnetically trapped, and evaporatively cooled to quantum degeneracy. 10[superscript 11] atoms are initially trapped, leading to Bose-Einstein condensation at a critical temperature of 5 μK and threshold atom number of 1.1×10 [superscript 6]. This method is applicable to a wide array of paramagnetic atoms and molecules, many of which are impractical to laser cool and impossible to surface cool.
We report the creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate using buffer-gas cooling, the first realization of Bose-Einstein condensation using a broadly general method which relies neither on laser cooling nor unique atom-surface properties. Metastable helium ((4)He*) is buffer-gas cooled, magnetically trapped, and evaporatively cooled to quantum degeneracy. 10(11) atoms are initially trapped, leading to Bose-Einstein condensation at a critical temperature of 5 microK and threshold atom number of 1.1 x 10(6). This method is applicable to a wide array of paramagnetic atoms and molecules, many of which are impractical to laser cool and impossible to surface cool.
Summary form only given. The importance of helium atoms in the metastable state 2/sup 3/S/sub 1/ (He*, lifetime 8000 s) for studies of ultracold atomic clouds in the quantum degeneracy regime has been pointed out. For /sup 4/He* Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) is expected, whereas the /sup 3/He isotope allows the study of a fermionic system, if the technique of sympathetic cooling is feasible. We plan to reach the BEC transition using forced evaporative cooling in our magnetostatic trap (MST) of cloverleaf geometry.
Bose–Einstein condensation in a gas has now been achieved. Atoms are cooled to the point of condensation using laser cooling and trapping, followed by magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling. These techniques are explained, as well as the techniques by which we observe the cold atom samples. Three different signatures of Bose–Einstein condensation are described. A number of properties of the condensate, including collective excitations, distortions of the wave function by interactions, and the fraction of atoms in the condensate versus temperature, have also been measured.