Abstract
We have created a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of atoms directly in an optical trap. We employ a quasielectrostatic dipole force trap formed by two crossed laser beams. Loading directly from a sub-Doppler laser-cooled cloud of atoms results in initial phase space densities of . Evaporatively cooling through the BEC transition is achieved by lowering the power in the trapping beams over . The resulting condensates are spinors with atoms distributed between the states.
- Received 10 May 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.010404
©2001 American Physical Society