Production of Sodium Bose--Einstein condensates in an optical dimple trap

David Jacob (1) , Emmanuel Mimoun (1) , Luigi de Sarlo (1) , Martin Weitz (2) , J Dalibard (1) , F. Gerbier (1)

1 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
2 Universität Bonn = University of Bonn

We report on the realization of a sodium Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) in a combined red-detuned optical dipole trap, formed by two beams crossing in a horizontal plane and a third, tightly focused dimple trap propagating vertically. We produce a BEC in three main steps: loading of the crossed dipole trap from laser-cooled atoms, an intermediate evaporative cooling stage which results in efficient loading of the auxiliary dimple trap, and a final evaporative cooling stage in the dimple trap. Our protocol is implemented in a compact setup and allows us to reach quantum degeneracy even with relatively modest initial atom numbers and available laser power.

Mots clés: Bose--Einstein condensation; optical trapping; laser cooling

Domaines: Physique Quantique [quant-ph]

David Jacob, Emmanuel Mimoun, Luigi de Sarlo, Martin Weitz, J Dalibard, et al.. Production of Sodium Bose--Einstein condensates in an optical dimple trap. New Journal of Physics, 2011, 13 (6), pp.065022. ⟨10.1088/1367-2630/13/6/065022⟩. ⟨hal-00583436v2⟩