Darmstadt 2008 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 26: Posters: BECs, ultracold gases and plasmas

A 26.11: Poster

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 16:30–18:30, Poster C3

An ultracold Bose gas in an optical dipole trap — •Lena Simon and Walter Strunz — Physikalisches Institut, Hermann-Herder-Str. 3, Universität Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg

Motivated by an experiment in the Helm group at the university of Freiburg, we study an ultracold Bose gas in an optical dipole trap consisting of one single laser beam. An analytical expression for the density of states for the trap potential beyond the usual harmonic approximation is obtained. We are thus able to determine the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation and find that it depends on a cutoff parameter. We discuss these surprising subtleties in some detail. Moreover, we study the dynamics of evaporative cooling and observe a significant deviation from the well-established harmonic approximation.