A Microtrap for Ultra-Cold Degenerate Fermions
Abstract
We present progress on the construction of a chip trap experiment for fermionic potassium (^40K) and bosonic rubidium (^87Rb). The apparatus consists of a single glass vacuum cell in which ^40K and ^87Rb in a vapor are cooled and trapped simultaneously in a six-beam magneto-optical trap (MOT). The cold two-species atomic cloud is then transported in a quadrupole magnetic trap to the surface of an ``atom chip'' and loaded into a microfabricated magnetic trap. This approach to fermionic degeneracy requires only a single chamber, because the rapid evaporative cooling due to the tight confinement of the chip trap does not require as stringent a vacuum as a traditional magnetic trap. Further, the microfabricated trap will allow tightly confined traps, highly anisotropic traps, and more complicated (e.g., multi-well) geometries. In describing our experimental approach, we address the experimental challenges related to microtrapping fermions and future studies of Pauli-blocking and low-dimensional cold Fermi gases. Work Supported by NSERC, CFI, PRO, and OIT.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004APS..DMP.D1065A