Loading a continuous-wave atom laser by optical pumping techniques - art. no. 043604

Demonstrating that, despite loss processes. Bose-Einstein condensates can b e formed in steady state is a prerequisite for obtaining a coherent beam of atoms in a continuous-wave atom laser. Tn this paper we propose a method f or loading atoms into the thermal component of a Bose condensed cloud confi ned in a magnetic trap. This method is aimed at allowing steady-state dynam ics to be achieved. The proposed scheme involves loading atoms into the con servative magnetic potential using the: spontaneous emission of photons. We show that the probability for the reabsorption of these photons may be sma ll.