Realization of an Er 2D MOT for a Na+Er mixture experiment

We have realized a dual-species sodium and erbium 2D MOT. This compact source allows us to rapidly switch between loading either species into 3D MOTs in a main chamber. We have characterized the flux from this source and the resulting loading rates into the 3D MOTs . This new source opens possibilities of studying lanthanide-alkali collisions and Feshbach spectra, possibly opening new pathways to realizing interesting quantum many body systems.