arXiv · cond-mat/9711273
Optical Confinement of a Bose-Einstein Condensate
Abstract
Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms have been confined in an optical dipole trap using a single focused infrared laser beam. This eliminates the restrictions of magnetic traps for further studies of atom lasers and Bose-Einstein condensates. More than five million condensed atoms were transferred into the optical trap. Densities of up to $3 \times 10^{15} cm^{-3}$ of Bose condensed atoms were obtained, allowing for a measurement of the three-body decay rate constant for sodium condensates as $K_3 = (1.1 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-30} cm^6 s^{-1}$. At lower densities, the observed 1/e lifetime was more than 10 sec. Simultaneous confinement of Bose-Einstein condensates in several hyperfine states was demonstrated.
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D. M. Stamper-Kurn, M. R. Andrews, A. P. Chikkatur, S. Inouye, H. -J. Miesner, J. Stenger, W. Ketterle. 1997-11-25. Optical Confinement of a Bose-Einstein Condensate. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.80.2027
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