All-Optical Bose-Einstein Condensates in Microgravity

Gabriel Condon (1) , Martin Rabault , Brynle Barrett (1) , Laure Chichet (1) , Romain Arguel , Hodei Eneriz-Imaz , Devang S. Naik (1) , Andrea Bertoldi (1) , Baptiste Battelier (1) , Arnaud Landragin (2) , Philippe Bouyer (1)

1 LP2N - Laboratoire Photonique, Numérique et Nanosciences
2 SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps Espace

We report on the all-optical production of Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity using a combination of grey molasses cooling, light-shift engineering and optical trapping in a painted potential. Forced evaporative cooling in a 3-m high Einstein elevator results in $4 \times 10^4$ condensed atoms every 13.5 s, with a temperature as low as 35 nK. In this system, the atomic cloud can expand in weightlessness for up to 400 ms, paving the way for atom interferometry experiments with extended interrogation times and studies of ultra-cold matter physics at low energies on ground or in Space.

Domains: Physics [physics]; Astrophysics [astro-ph]

Gabriel Condon, Martin Rabault, Brynle Barrett, Laure Chichet, Romain Arguel, et al.. All-Optical Bose-Einstein Condensates in Microgravity. Physical Review Letters, 2019, 123, pp.240402. ⟨10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.123.240402⟩. ⟨hal-02379601⟩