Bose-Einstein condensate discovery

In this section we discuss the new technique of optical cooling, which decreases the velocity of atoms to a small interval around v = 0. Optical cooling down to temperatures of a few micro Kelvin has been achieved by combining optical and evaporative cooling even the nanoKelvin range was reached. This brought the discovery of quite new phenomena, such as Bose-Einstein condensation or atom-lasers, and atomic fountains [1109-1 111]. 

The cooling of atoms to ultracold temperatures has resulted in spectacular discoveries. The realization and study of new states of matter like Bose Einstein Condensates/ degenerate Fermi gases and (Bardeen,... 

The methods of trapping cold atoms, considered in Chapter 5 and the present chapter in a very brief and retrospective fashion, have become a very powerful tool in experimental physics. They have led to the development of atom optics, the observation and investigation of dilute quantum gases (Bose-Einstein condensation, atom lasers, Fermi-degenerate quantum gases, and ultracold molecules), and probably many other discoveries in the physics of ultracold atoms. These will be discussed in Chapters 7 and 8. But it would be expedient to consider at the end of this chapter a few examples of applications that lie beyond the mainstream, but are of physical interest. 

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