Design and characterization of a compact magnetic shield for ultracold atomic gas experiments

We report on the design, construction, and performance of a compact magnetic shield that facilitates a controlled, low-noise environment for experiments with ultracold atomic gases. The shield was designed to passively attenuate external slowly varying magnetic fields while allowing for ample optical access. The geometry, number of layers, and choice of materials were optimized using extensive finite-element numerical simulations. The measured performance of the shield is in good agreement with the simulations. From measurements of the spin coherence of an ultracold atomic ensemble, we demonstrate a residual field noise of 2.6 μG and a suppression of external dc magnetic fields by more than five orders of magnitude.