Partially ferromagnetic electromagnet for trapping and cooling neutral atoms to quantum degeneracy

TL;DR

This paper presents a compact, cost-effective partially ferromagnetic electromagnet that enables stable magnetic trapping and cooling of Rb 87 atoms to quantum degeneracy, achieving Bose-Einstein condensates efficiently.

Contribution

Introduction of a novel partially ferromagnetic electromagnet that improves stability, reduces power consumption, and simplifies compensation compared to traditional iron-core electromagnets.

Findings

Achieved Bose-Einstein condensates with 10^6 atoms.

Demonstrated stable magnetic trapping and cooling.

Produced atom lasers to test trap stability.

Abstract

We have developed a compact partially ferromagnetic electromagnet to produce a Ioffe-Pritchard trap for neutral atoms. Our structure permits strong magnetic confinement with low power consumption. Compared to the previous iron-core electromagnet, it allows for easy compensation of remnant fields and very high stability, along with cost-effective realization and compactness. We describe and characterize our apparatus and demonstrate trapping and cooling of Rb 87 atoms to quantum degeneracy. Pure Bose-Einstein condensates containing 10^6 atoms are routinely realized on a half-minute cycle. In addition we test the stability of the magnetic trap by producing atom lasers.