Spin-singlet Bose-Einstein condensation of two-electron atoms.
We report the observation of a Bose-Einstein condensation of ytterbium atoms by evaporative cooling in a novel crossed optical trap. Unlike the previously observed condensates, a ytterbium condensate is a two-electron system in a singlet state and has distinct features such as the extremely narrow intercombination transitions which are ideal for future optical frequency standard and the insensitivity to external magnetic field which is important for precision coherent atom optics, and the existence of the novel metastable triplet states generated by optical excitation from the singlet state.
Takasu
Yosuke
Y
Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Japan 606-8502.
Maki
Kenichi
K
Komori
Kaduki
K
Takano
Tetsushi
T
Honda
Kazuhito
K
Kumakura
Mitsutaka
M
Yabuzaki
Tsutomu
T
Takahashi
Yoshiro
Y