A two-species five-beam magneto-optical trap for highly magnetic Er and Dy atoms

POSTER

Abstract

We report on the first realization of a two-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) for erbium and dysprosium. The MOT operates on an intercombination line for the respective species. Owing to the narrow-line character of such a cooling transition and the action of gravity, we demonstrate a novel trap geometry employing only five beams in orthogonal configuration. We observe that the mixture is cooled and trapped very efficiently, with up to $5 \times 10^{8}$ Er atoms and $10^{9}$ Dy atoms at temperatures of about 10 $\mu K$. Our results offer an ideal starting condition for the creation of a dipolar quantum mixture of highly magnetic atoms.

Authors

  • Gianmaria Durastante

    • University of Innsbruck
  • Philipp Ilzhoefer

    • University of Innsbruck
  • Alexander Patscheider

    • University of Innsbruck
  • Claudia Politi

    • Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Maximilian Sohmen

    • University of Innsbruck
  • Arno Trautman

    • Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Manfred Mark

    • University of Innsbruck
  • Frencesca Ferlaino

    • University of Innsbruck