PROSPECTS FOR BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION IN CESIUM

We analyze all of the cold-collision data for Cs, consisting of atomic fountain frequency shifts and elastic scattering rates, to determine phase parameters that completely characterize cold collisions between two ground-state cesium atoms. We show that the fast decays of spin-po larized gas samples in two recent attempts to reach Bose-Einstein cond ensation in cesium are due to potential and Feshbach resonances which enhance the depolarizing atom-atom collisions. We discuss the prospect s for realizing Bose-Einstein condensation in Cs-133 and in Cs-135.