The Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory
Abstract
Microgravity eases several constraints limiting experiments with ultracold and condensed atoms on ground. It enables extended times of flight without suspension and eliminates the gravitational sag for trapped atoms. These advantages motivated numerous initiatives to adapt and operate experimental setups on microgravity platforms. We describe the design of the payload, motivations for design choices, and capabilities of the Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory (BECCAL), a NASA-DLR collaboration. BECCAL builds on the heritage of previous devices operated in microgravity, features rubidium and potassium, multiple options for magnetic and optical trapping, different methods for coherent manipulation, and will offer new perspectives for experiments on quantum optics, atom optics, and atom interferometry in the unique microgravity environment on board the International Space Station.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1912.04849,
title = {The Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory},
author = {Kai Frye and Sven Abend and Wolfgang Bartosch and Ahmad Bawamia and Dennis Becker and Holger Blume and Claus Braxmaier and Sheng-Wey Chiow and Maxim A. Efremov and Wolfgang Ertmer and Peter Fierlinger and Naceur Gaaloul and Jens Grosse and Christoph Grzeschik and Ortwin Hellmig and Victoria A. Henderson and Waldemar Herr and Ulf Israelsson and James Kohel and Markus Krutzik and Christian Kürbis and Claus Lämmerzahl and Meike List and Daniel Lüdtke and Nathan Lundblad and J. Pierre Marburger and Matthias Meister and Moritz Mihm and Holger Müller and Hauke Müntinga and Tim Oberschulte and Alexandros Papakonstantinou and Jaka Perovšek and Achim Peters and Arnau Prat and Ernst M. Rasel and Albert Roura and Wolfgang P. Schleich and Christian Schubert and Stephan T. Seidel and Jan Sommer and Christian Spindeldreier and Dan Stamper-Kurn and Benjamin K. Stuhl and Marvin Warner and Thijs Wendrich and André Wenzlawski and Andreas Wicht and Patrick Windpassinger and Nan Yu and Lisa Wörner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1912.04849},
year = {2021}
}