The basis of the atomic laser is the so-called Bose condensation. In nature, elementary particles are divided into two types: fermions and bosons.

Fermions are the building blocks of the matter we create. Bosons are completely different, for example, they can pass through each other. It includes bosons, especially photons. But atoms can also behave like bosons.

The uniqueness of bosons is that they can be in the same state at the same time, in other words, they can be concentrated in a coherent wave. Physicists call the matter that comes from the condensation of matter particles Bose condensation.

What is the problem

Keeping atoms in sync is often difficult. The problem with temperature is that when a substance heats up, the particles start to oscillate and it’s nearly impossible to move them as a whole. Coherent waves of Bose condensate can only be created at extremely low temperatures, about 273 degrees below zero degrees Celsius.

When the first Bose condensates were created in the lab a quarter of a century ago, it was possible to create atomic lasers, but it didn’t take long: we had to create a new Bose condensate after each pulse.

Problem solved – laser works

A team of physicists from the University of Amsterdam managed to solve this problem.

In previous experiments, cascading cooling took place in one place. We decided to distribute the cooling across space, not time: we forced atoms to move as they passed through successive cooling stages. Eventually, supercold atoms appear that can be used to create coherent matter waves in Bose condensates. But so far these atoms are being used, new ones are on their way to regenerate Bose condensate. So the process can actually go on forever,
– said group leader Florian Shrek.

The scientists’ next goal is to use an atomic laser to create a stable beam of matter. If this is successful, nothing will stand in the way of the practical application of this technology, which will begin to play as important a role as conventional lasers.