Trap loss in a metastable helium-rubidium magneto-optical trap

Abstract

We present results of the study of a simultaneously confined metastable helium (He*) and rubidium magneto-optical trap (MOT). By monitoring the trap decay of the Rb87 MOT with and without a He* MOT present, we find the light-assisted, two-body loss rate to be βRb-He*=(6±2) ×10-10 cm3/s. Moreover, we find that it is possible to create a large, robust Rb87-He* MOT, opening the possibility of creating a Rb87-He* Bose-Einstein condensate. This would be the first dual-species condensate incorporating an alkali metal ground-state atom and an excited-state noble gas atom.