From MOT to BEC using a single crossed-wire pair
Abstract
We demonstrate a new magneto-optical trap (MOT) configuration using a simple pair of crossed wires rotated at 45 deg and an appropriate bias field to generate a MOT of >10^8 atoms. The same pair of wires, with slightly adjusted control parameters, is then used to magnetically trap the atoms and cool them via forced evaporative cooling into a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with >10^4 atoms. We present the theoretical framework for generating a quadrupole field using a pair of crossed wires with arbitrary rotation angle, along with the atom chip design and fabrication. Finally, we describe the experimental protocols required for BEC production using only a single crossed-wire atom chip.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.17119,
title = {From MOT to BEC using a single crossed-wire pair},
author = {Joshua M. Wilson and James A. Stickney and Francisco Fonta and Johnathan White and Brian Kasch and Spencer E. Olson and Matthew B. Squires},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.17119},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
6 pages, 5 figures. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited (AFRL-2026-0090)