Abstract
We have trapped rubidium atoms in the magnetic field produced by a superconducting atom chip operated at liquid helium temperatures. Up to atoms are held in a Ioffe-Pritchard trap at a distance of from the chip surface, with a temperature of . The trap lifetime reaches 115 s at low atomic densities. These results open the way to the exploration of atom-surface interactions and coherent atomic transport in a superconducting environment, whose properties are radically different from normal metals at room temperature.
- Received 6 September 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.200405
©2006 American Physical Society