Realization of a magnetically guided beam in the collisionnal regime

Thierry Lahaye

Ecole Normale Superieure, Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France

We describe the realization of a magnetically guided beam of cold rubidium atoms, with a flux of 7.109 atoms/s, a temperature of 400 ľK, and a mean velocity of 1 m/s. The rate of elastic collisions within the beam is sufficient to ensure thermalization. We show that the evaporation induced by a radiofrequency wave leads to appreciable cooling and an increase in the phase space density. We discuss the perspectives to reach the quantum degenerate regime using evaporative cooling.