Approaching absolute zero

We start with a brief background to the field of ultracold atoms and degenerate quantum gases and then review research in this field currently in progress in our laboratory in Melbourne. Current experiments include the use of a permanent magnetic film atom chip to create a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) of 87Rb atoms; the use of a periodic magnetic microstructure on an atom chip to produce a magnetic lattice for trapping ultracold atoms and BECs; and the production of a BEC of 6Li2 molecules, comprising pairs of weakly bound fermionic 6Li atoms, and a degenerate Fermi gas of 6Li atoms in an optical dipole trap near a Feshbach resonance.