We report quantum degeneracy in a gas of ultra-cold fermionic $^{ 87}$Sr atoms. By evaporatively cooling a mixture of spin states in an optical dipole trap for 10.5\,s, we obtain samples well into the degenerate regime with $T/T_F=0.26^{ +.05}_{ -.06}$. The main signature of degeneracy is a change in the momentum distribution as measured by time-of-flight imaging, and we also observe a decrease in evaporation efficiency below $T/T_F \sim 0.5$.
Categories: cond-mat.quant-gas