Simulation of Magnetic Chip Traps in NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory for Extreme Adiabatic Expansion

NASA's Cold Atom Lab facility (CAL) provides an exceptional microgravity environment ideal for experiments with quantum gases that will advance understandings of fundamental physics constants and quantum phenomena [1]. To take advantage of this microgravity environment for atom interrogation and precision measurements, atoms must first be brought to rest without strong, confining magnetic fields. CAL currently applies two strategies to release atoms such that they are brought to rest: delta-kick collimation and adiabatic expansion. The simulation discussed in this poster addresses adiabatic expansion because of the important consequences of its invulnerability to trap anharmonicities [2]. CAL's microgravity climate permits the time required for such expansion without significantly detracting time from the following atom interrogations. This simulation implements the adiabatic expansion using CAL's atom chip and trapping fields aiming to achieve sub-Hz trapping fields and gases of rubidium atoms cooled to temperatures below 100 pK.