Laser cooling and Bose Einstein condensation of potassium isotopes

In this chapter we discuss the important contributions that Arturo Bambini gave to the development of laser cooling and to Bose-Einstein condensation of potassium atoms in Florence over more than a decade. In various occasions, his deep and accurate theoretical investigation of atom-light and atom-atom interactions has put experiments on the right track. His counterintuitive predictions for the potassium isotopes, which are rather unique among alkali atoms, have always turned out to be right, although challenging for the experimentalists...