Bose-Einstein condensation in Rb-87: Characterization of the Brazilian experiment

We describe the experimental apparatus and the methods to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation in Rb-87 atoms. Atoms are first laser cooled in a standard double magneto-optical trap setup and then transferred into a QUIC trap. The system is brought to quantum degeneracy selectively removing the hottest atoms from the trap by radio-frequency radiation. We also present the main theoretical aspects of the Bose-Einstein condensation phenomena in atomic gases.