Bose-Einstein condensation of ^{86}Sr (original) (raw)
We report on the attainment of Bose-Einstein condensation of 86 Sr. This isotope has a scattering length of about +800 a0 and thus suffers from fast three-body losses. To avoid detrimental atom loss, evaporative cooling is performed at low densities around 3×10 12 cm −3 in a large volume optical dipole trap. We obtain almost pure condensates of 5 × 10 3 atoms. PACS numbers: 37.10.De, 67.85.Hj Quantum degenerate gases of atoms with two valence electrons are an exciting field of research. The electronic structure of these atoms is the basis for applications like ultraprecise optical clocks . Quantum degenerate samples open new possibilities such as the study of unique quantum many-body phenomena and novel schemes of quantum computation . They are also an ideal starting point for the creation of molecules of two-electron atoms and molecules of two-electron atoms with alkali atoms , which have applications in precision measurement or quantum simulations with spin-dependent anisotropic long range interactions . The first two-electron atom cooled to quantum degeneracy was ytterbium , followed by calcium [25] and strontium last year. Quantum degenerate samples of bosonic 84 Sr and 88 Sr [26-28], as well as of fermionic 87 Sr [29, 30] have been created, but Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of 86 Sr has so far been elusive [31].
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