# All-Optical Bose-Einstein Condensates in Microgravity

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the all-optical creation of Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity, enabling extended free expansion and potential advanced experiments in atom interferometry and ultra-cold physics.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining grey molasses, light-shift engineering, and optical trapping to produce BECs in microgravity conditions.

## Key findings

- Achieved BEC with 4x10^4 atoms every 13.5 s
- Reached temperatures as low as 35 nK
- Atomic cloud expands for up to 400 ms in microgravity

## Abstract

We report on the all-optical production of Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity using a combination of grey molasses cooling, light-shift engineering and optical trapping in a painted potential. Forced evaporative cooling in a 3-m high Einstein elevator results in $4 \times 10^4$ condensed atoms every 13.5 s, with a temperature as low as 35 nK. In this system, the atomic cloud can expand in weightlessness for up to 400 ms, paving the way for atom interferometry experiments with extended interrogation times and studies of ultra-cold matter physics at low energies on ground or in Space.