2003/11/21 by Y. Shin, Yong-il Shin, Michele Saba +8 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Frequency and Time Standards #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.92.150401
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 150401 (2004)
arxiv created 2003/11/21 · openalex publication_date 2004/04/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms, prepared in an optical dipole trap, were distilled into a second empty dipole trap adjacent to the first one. The distillation was driven by thermal atoms spilling over the potential barrier separating the two wells and then forming a new condensate. This process serves as a model system for metastability in condensates, provides a test for quantum kinetic theories of condensate formation, and also represents a novel technique for creating or replenishing condensates in new locations.