title: All-optical realization of an atom laser.
abstract: We demonstrate an atom laser using all-optical techniques. A Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms is created by direct evaporative cooling in a quasistatic dipole trap realized with a single, tightly focused CO2-laser beam. An applied magnetic field gradient allows the formation of the condensate in a field-insensitive m(F)=0 spin projection only, which suppresses fluctuations of the chemical potential from stray magnetic fields. A collimated and monoenergetic beam of atoms is extracted from the Bose-Einstein condensate by continuously lowering the dipole trapping potential in a controlled way to form a novel type of atom laser.
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut der Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cennini
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ritt
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geckeler
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weitz