Abstract
We report the magnetic merging of ultracold atomic gases of and 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 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.
- Received 3 March 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.83.053633
©2011 American Physical Society