Towards a two component quantum gas of Rb and Yb atoms

An experiment is performed aiming at the realization of a two component quantum gas with ytterbium and rubidium atoms. The combination of a diamagnetic rare earth (Yb) and a paramagnetic alkali metal (Rb) will enable us to manipulate the two species independently. Furthermore, studies of several boson/boson mixtures as well as fermion/boson mixtures are possible, since seven stable isotopes of ytterbium exist. So far, trapping of the six most abundant ytterbium isotopes (4 different bosons and 2 fermions) in a magneto-optical trap loaded from an increasing-field Zeeman slower has achieved. The loading rate of the ytterbium slower was on the order of 107 atoms per second and the number of atoms in the trap was on the order of 107 atoms. The lifetime of the MOT is on the order of several hundred milliseconds limited by losses into metastable states. First results on a double-species magneto-optical trap of ⁸⁷Rb and ¹⁷⁴Yb are obtained.