1303.1105 (Sören Dörscher et al.)

Creation of Quantum-Degenerate Gases of Ytterbium in a Compact
2D-/3D-MOT Setup    [PDF]

Sören Dörscher, Alexander Thobe, Bastian Hundt, André Kochanke, Rodolphe Le Targat, Patrick Windpassinger, Christoph Becker, Klaus Sengstock

We report on the first experimental setup based on a 2D-/3D-MOT scheme to create both Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases of several ytterbium isotopes. Our setup does not require a Zeeman slower and offers the flexibility to simultaneously produce ultracold samples of other atomic species. Furthermore, the extraordinary optical access favors future experiments in optical lattices. A 2D-MOT on the strong 1S0-1P1 transition captures ytterbium directly from a dispenser of atoms and loads a 3D-MOT on the narrow 1S0-3P1 intercombination transition. Subsequently, atoms are transferred to a crossed optical dipole trap and cooled evaporatively to quantum degeneracy.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.1105