# Compensation of gravity on cold atoms by a linear optical potential

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to counteract gravity in ultracold rubidium atoms using a time-averaged optical potential, enabling experiments akin to microgravity conditions in a laboratory setting.

## Contribution

The authors introduce a novel optical technique for gravity compensation in cold atom experiments using a modulated far-off-resonance beam.

## Key findings

- Successful gravity sag compensation in ultracold rubidium gas
- Preparation of a degenerate gas with weak vertical confinement
- Potential to perform microgravity experiments in the lab

## Abstract

We demonstrate gravity compensation for an ultracold gas of $^{87}$Rb atoms with a time-averaged optical potential. The position of a far-off-resonance beam is temporally modulated with an acousto-optic deflector to efficiently produce a potential with a linear gradient independent of the atomic magnetic sublevels. We realize compensation of the gravity sag and preparation of a degenerate gas in a trap with weak vertical confinement. Optical gravity compensation will provide the opportunity to perform experiments under microgravity in a laboratory and broaden the scope of cold atom research.