Magnetic transport apparatus for the production of ultracold atomic gases in the vicinity of a dielectric surface

Abstract

We present an apparatus designed for studies of atom-surface interactions using quantum degenerate gases of ${}^{85}$Rb and ${}^{87}$Rb in the vicinity of a room temperature dielectric surface. The surface to be investigated is a super-polished face of a glass Dove prism mounted in a glass cell under ultra-high vacuum (UHV). To maintain excellent optical access to the region surrounding the surface magnetic transport is used to deliver ultracold atoms from a separate vacuum chamber housing the magneto-optical trap (MOT). We present a detailed description of the vacuum apparatus highlighting the novel design features; a low profile MOT chamber and the inclusion of an obstacle in the transport path. We report the characterization and optimization of the magnetic transport around the obstacle, achieving transport efficiencies of 70% with negligible heating. Finally we demonstrate the loading of a hybrid optical-magnetic trap with ${}^{87}$Rb and the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates via forced evaporative cooling close to the dielectric surface.

11 pages, 11 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Production and characterization of a dual species magneto-optical trap of cesium and ytterbium
• Measuring the disorder of vortex lattices in a Bose-Einstein condensate
• Bose-Einstein condensation of 85Rb by direct evaporation in an optical dipole trap
• Non-equilibrium Atomic Condensates and Mixtures: Collective Modes, Condensate Growth and Thermalization
• Comparison of time profiles for the magnetic transport of cold atoms
• Splitting and recombination of bright-solitary-matter waves