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Reversible Formation of a Bose-Einstein Condensate

D. M. Stamper-Kurn, H. -J. Miesner, A. P. Chikkatur, S. Inouye, J. Stenger, W. Ketterle

cond-mat.stat-mecharXiv:cond-mat/9805022

Abstract

We present a method of adiabatically changing the local phase-space density of an ultracold gas, using a combination of magnetic and optical forces. Applying this method, we observe phase-space density increases in a gas of sodium atoms by as much as 50-fold. The transition to Bose-Einstein condensation was crossed reversibly, attaining condensate fractions of up to 30%. Measurements of the condensate fraction reveal its reduction due to interactions.

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