Bose-Einstein condensation of alkaline earth atoms: ${}^{40}${Ca}

Abstract

We have achieved Bose-Einstein condensation of ${}^{40}$Ca, the first for an alkaline earth element. The influence of elastic and inelastic collisions associated with the large ground state s-wave scattering length of ${}^{40}$Ca was measured. From these findings, an optimized loading and cooling scheme was developed that allowed us to condense about $2\cdot 10^4$ atoms after laser cooling in a two-stage magneto-optical trap and subsequent forced evaporation in a crossed dipole trap within less than 3 s. The condensation of an alkaline earth element opens novel opportunities for precision measurements on the narrow intercombination lines as well as investigations of molecular states at the ${}^1$S--${}^3$P asymptotes.

References in corpus (2)

• Bose-Einstein Condensation of an Ytterbium Isotope
• A Mott Insulator of Ultracold Alkaline-Earth-Like Atoms