Atom: ⁸⁵Rb F=2, m_F=-2

Trap: Levitated crossed dipole trap

A single (1064nm) beam, used in a bow tie arrangement, is focused first to a 136µm waist to form beam 1. This beam is then refocused to 125µm and delivered back through the science cell at an angle of 90&deg to beam 1. Both beams are positioned ~160µm below the field zero of a magnetic quadrupole trap. The magnetic gradient produced by the quadrupole trap is just below that necessary to support atoms against gravity. In addition, a magnetic field is used to tune the atomic scattering properties.

Pure condensates observed of >30,000.

⁸⁵Rb Team: (Clockwise from top) Simon Cornish, Steve Hopkins, Anna Marchant, Timothy Wiles