Exploring a quantum degenerate Fermi gas

We discuss the production and study of a quantum degenerate Fermi gas of atoms. The fundamental difficulty in cooling a gas of fermionic atoms is the lack of rethermalizing collisions in a spin-polarized sample. We overcome this difficulty using simultaneous forced evaporation of a two spin-state cloud of K-40 atoms held in a magnetic trap. In the quantum degenerate regime we explore the effects of the Fermi statistics on the thermodynamics of the ultracold gas. Initial studies of the dynamics of a two-component Fermi gas are also discussed.