An Atom Laser with a cw Output Coupler

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of a continuous atom laser with a magnetically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, enabling controlled, continuous atomic beam output and precise spectroscopic measurements of the condensate.

Contribution

It introduces a continuous output coupler for atom lasers, allowing sustained atomic beam extraction and detailed condensate spectroscopy, advancing atom laser technology.

Findings

Achieved continuous atom beam for up to 100 ms

Controlled beam intensity and energy via rf-field

Performed spatially resolved condensate spectroscopy

Abstract

We demonstrate a continuous output coupler for magnetically trapped atoms. Over a period of up to 100 ms a collimated and monoenergetic beam of atoms is continuously extracted from a Bose- Einstein condensate. The intensity and kinetic energy of the output beam of this atom laser are controlled by a weak rf-field that induces spin flips between trapped and untrapped states. Furthermore, the output coupler is used to perform a spectroscopic measurement of the condensate, which reveals the spatial distribution of the magnetically trapped condensate and allows manipulation of the condensate on a micrometer scale.