We have achieved a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of ytterbium atoms following evaporative cooling. Starting with the transfer of atoms from a magneto-optical trap to a crossed optical dipole trap, we progressively reduced the trap depth, allowing the more energetic atoms to escape while the remaining atoms cooled and condensed into the ground state. The figure below shows the condensation process, with the temperatures from left to right being 335 nK, 104 nK, and 46 nK.

[updated on 14 Jan 2025]