On-orbit production of quantum gases in NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL)*

We report on the successful commissioning and on-going operation of the Cold Atom Lab (CAL), a first-of-its-kind atomic physics research facility studying quantum gases in low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This presentation will discuss the instrument and highlight results published in Nature on June 11, 2020 [1], reporting the first Bose-Einstein condensates produced and manipulated in orbit. In the microgravity environment of the ISS, we are able to observe novel evaporation regimes and by-products, as well as decompression-cooled condensates. Achieving sub-nanoKelvin temperatures and minimal center-of-mass motion allows extended observation of freely expanded clouds over one second following their release from the atom trap. We will also discuss the confinement of spin-zero atoms based on the quadratic Zeeman effect. Now approaching three years in orbit, Bose-Einstein condensates of rubidium-87 have been created by the instrument hundreds of times per day. With routine BEC production, ongoing operations support long-term investigations of fundamental physics studies, as well as development of advanced atom cooling techniques, novel atom-laser sources, and quantum sensor technology.

[1] Aveline, D.C., Williams, J.R., Elliott, E.R. et al. Observation of Bose–Einstein condensates in an Earth-orbiting research lab. Nature 582, 193–197 (2020).