Prospects for mixed-isotope Bose-Einstein condensates in rubidium

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

J P. Burke, J L. Bohn, B D. Esry, C H. Greene

Abstract

We present quantiative calculations of binary collision parameters for mixtures of ultracold gases of ⁸⁵Rb and ⁸⁷Rb atoms. The elastic cross section for pure ⁸⁵Rb collisions is found to be unusually small in the important temperature range T=0.1-1mK for evaporative cooling. However, the addition of a buffer gas of ⁸⁷Rb atoms could be used for sympathetic cooling of the ^85^Rb atoms. The positive triplet scattering length (205-220 a.u.) which we predict for mixed isopope collision implies that a stable mixed-isotope double condensate could be formed. In addition, collisions between ⁸⁴Rb and ⁸⁷Rb atoms in the lowest hyperfine manifold exhibit magnetic field-induced Feshbach resonances which would allow the interaction between condensates to be controlled.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

Bose Einstein condensation, rubidium, ultracold collisions

Citation

Burke, J. , Bohn, J. , Esry, B. and Greene, C. (2008), Prospects for mixed-isotope Bose-Einstein condensates in rubidium, Physical Review Letters (Accessed February 7, 2026)