This lecture series will review the basic physics of Bose-Einstein condensation, and recent studies in trapped atomic systems. After discussing the phenomenon in a broad span of systems ranging from condensed matter – e.g., liquid helium, and semiconductors, – to nuclear, high energy, and astrophysics – e.g., meson condensates in nuclei and neutron stars, and chiral condensates in the vacuum – I will focus on the recent studies of Bose-Einstein condensation in atomic systems, discussing the basic principles, the theory underlying the experiments, and prospects for future studies. These introductory lectures will not assume any specialized background.

Plan of the lectures:

• Historical introduction. Overview of condensates in nature Basic physics of Bose-Einstein condensation and relation to superfluidity.
• Atomic condensates. Overview of experiments, and basic atomic physics. Theory of equilibrium state of atomic condensates.
• Dynamics of atomic condensates: modes, sound propagation, vortices, systems with attractive interactions.
• Quantum behavior of atomic condensates: interference, atom lasers, light propagation, spin degrees of freedom.
• Other systems: fermions in traps, excitons.