Bose-Einstein condensation of an atomic gas with attractive interactions

Summary form only given. Recently Bose-Einstein condensation (BEG) of ultracold atomic gases has been realized. In these experiments the gases are so dilute that only two-body interactions are relevant. The stability and character of the condensate for atoms with negative scattering length remains a new challenge for manybody theory. We are experimentally investigating these questions using a permanent magnet trap to confine /sup 7/Li. By evaporative cooling, phase-space densities that are more than 100 times greater than those required for quantum degeneracy can be created.