Large atom number dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms

TL;DR

This paper details the design and characterization of a dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms, achieving large atom numbers suitable for quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixtures.

Contribution

The paper introduces a dual-species MOT with high atom numbers and optimized conditions to minimize interspecies collision losses, advancing the setup for quantum degenerate mixtures.

Findings

Achieved 5.2x10^9 6Li atoms and 8.0x10^9 40K atoms in the MOT.

Captured atoms at rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li/s and 1.4x10^9 40K/s.

Reduced interspecies collision losses from 65% to 10%.

Abstract

We present the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms with large atom numbers. The MOT simultaneously contains 5.2x10^9 6Li-atoms and 8.0x10^9 40K-atoms, which are continuously loaded by a Zeeman slower for 6Li and a 2D-MOT for 40K. The atom sources induce capture rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li-atoms/s and 1.4x10^9 40K-atoms/s. Trap losses due to light-induced interspecies collisions of ~65% were observed and could be minimized to ~10% by using low magnetic field gradients and low light powers in the repumping light of both atomic species. The described system represents the starting point for the production of a large-atom number quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixture.