Transport of Bose-Einstein condensates with optical tweezers -: art. no. 020401

We have transported gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates over distances up to 44 cm. This was accomplished by trapping the condensate in the focus of an infrared laser and translating the location of the laser focus with controlled acceleration. Condensates of order 106 atoms were moved into an auxiliary chamber and loaded into a magnetic trap formed by a Z-shaped wire. This transport technique avoids the optical and mechanical access constraints of conventional condensate experiments and creates many new scientific opportunities.