Credit: M.BOSHIER

N. J. Phys. 11, 043030 (2009)

Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) are clouds of ultracold atoms that behave as a single, giant quantum object. Physicists often use a combination of laser light and magnetic fields to trap and then cool a little blob of atoms to near absolute zero.

Malcolm Boshier and his colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have figured out how to 'paint' a BEC using two lasers. The first traps the atoms on a flat canvas; the second acts as a paintbrush, scanning a desired shape and cooling it until a BEC forms. The group can make a BEC of rubidium atoms in any shape (example pictured), for use in fundamental studies or quantum information processing.