1 research outputs found
Quasi-2D Confinement of a BEC in a Combined Optical and Magnetic Potential
We have added an optical potential to a conventional Time-averaged Orbiting
Potential (TOP) trap to create a highly anisotropic hybrid trap for ultracold
atoms. Axial confinement is provided by the optical potential; the maximum
frequency currently obtainable in this direction is 2.2 kHz for rubidium. The
radial confinement is independently controlled by the magnetic trap and can be
a factor of 700 times smaller than in the axial direction. This large
anisotropy is more than sufficient to confine condensates with ~10^5 atoms in a
Quasi-2D (Q2D) regime, and we have verified this by measuring a change in the
free expansion of the condensate; our results agree with a variational model.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figur