Fast quantum gas formation via electromagnetically induced transparency cooling

Abstract

Ultracold quantum gases play a pivotal role in many-body physics, quantum sensing and quantum simulation. Over time, methods such as evaporative cooling in bulk ensembles and precision laser-cooling have been employed to effectively achieve quantum degeneracy in atomic gases. A simpler and more rapid way to form quantum gases would, thus, hold considerable promise in advancing the field. Here, we report the creation of a quantum gas by cooling individual rubidium atoms pinned in a three-dimensional optical lattice using electromagnetically induced transparency and adiabatic expansion. After just 10 ms of cooling, we verified the phase transition from a thermal to a quantum gas by adiabatically transferring the atoms to optical dipole traps. We observed the collapse of atoms in three-dimensional traps, a distinctive hallmark of a quantum gas with negative scattering length. Additionally, in a one-dimensional optical trap, we observed the emergence of a stable and strongly correlated quantum gas. Our results introduce a versatile and fast approach to achieving quantum degenerate gases with minimal time and resource requirements.