Magnetic merging of ultracold atomic gases of Rb85 and Rb87

S. Händel, T. P. Wiles, A. L. Marchant, S. A. Hopkins, C. S. Adams, and S. L. Cornish
Phys. Rev. A 83, 053633 – Published 27 May 2011

Abstract

We report the magnetic merging of ultracold atomic gases of Rb85 and Rb87 by the controlled overlap of two initially spatially separated magnetic traps. We present a detailed analysis of the combined magnetic-field potential as the two traps are brought together that predicts a clear optimum trajectory for the merging. We verify this prediction experimentally using Rb85 and find that the final atom number in the merged trap is maximized with minimal heating by following the predicted optimum trajectory. Using the magnetic-merging approach allows us to create variable-ratio isotopic Rb mixtures with a single laser-cooling setup by simply storing one isotope in a magnetic trap before jumping the laser frequencies to the transitions necessary to laser cool the second isotope.

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  • Received 3 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.83.053633

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

S. Händel, T. P. Wiles, A. L. Marchant, S. A. Hopkins, C. S. Adams, and S. L. Cornish

  • Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 83, Iss. 5 — May 2011

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