As the first result of our new Erbium-Dysprosium mixture experiment RARE, we achieved for the first time the simultaneous trapping of Erbium and Dysprosium atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). We prove that an efficient and stable operation of both species is possible in a
convenient, single-source line experiment, which provides a great
starting condition for future quantum gas experiments.
A peculiar feature of this MOT setup is its 5-beam geometry: Due to the
narrow transition used for the trapping of the atoms and the atoms’
large mass, it is not necessary to provide a confining laser beam from
top to bottom. This leaves a large optical access and allows future
experiments with a high-resolution imaging without the need of an
optical transport. We prove that also this 5-beam operation is very
efficient and traps and cools large samples of both species.