Experimental apparatus for production and transport of a 6Li quantum gas

We report our experimental apparatus for producing 6Li quantum gases with good optical access. Atoms are first captured in a D2 magneto-optical trap (MOT) and subsequently cooled via a compressed MOT and D1 gray molasses, reaching sub-Doppler temperatures as low as 70μK. The cold atoms are then loaded into a single-beam optical dipole trap and transported into a compact octagonal glass cell, where forced evaporative cooling is performed. We achieve quantum degeneracy, observe the formation of a molecular Bose–Einstein condensate containing 1×105 atom pairs, and demonstrate controlled tomographic imaging, thereby establishing a versatile platform for future studies of three-dimensional (3D) superfluid dynamics.