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BEC at Amherst

First observation:
BEC! - report: Sept. 1, 2002
Group:
Hall United States of America
Authors and contributors
Aaron Butler, Matt Eckelman, Micaela Mendlow, Erica Newman, Ted Reber, Mike Reed, Ben Samelson-Jones, Scott Owen, Nathan Stokes, Mark Wheeler and David S. Hall

Hall graph

[Historical report created from GSU BEC Homepage:]

"On September 1, 2002, our group succeeded in creating a Bose-Einstein condensate in the |F = 2, MF = 2> state of 87Rb. We are using a TOP trap and double MOT system, collecting 4 x 108 atoms in about a minute and subsequently producing BECs with 1-2 x 105 atoms and no noticeable thermal component. We use a combination of "hole of death" and rf evaporation to cross the BEC threshold. To our knowledge, this is the first BEC at an exclusively undergraduate institution.

Figure above: Amherst apparatus and condensate, circa September 2002.

Our group contributors are (numbers indicate graduation year):

  • Aaron Butler '02
  • Matt Eckelman '01E
  • Micaela Mendlow '04E
  • Erica Newman (postbac)
  • Ted Reber '03
  • Mike Reed '04
  • Ben Samelson-Jones '01
  • Scott Owen '02
  • Nathan Stokes '00
  • Mark Wheeler '04
  • David S. Hall (PI)

We have also received funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Research Corporation, and the National Science Foundation.

Group Web page."