Generation of high-purity, low-temperature samples of ³⁹K for applications in metrology

We present an all optical technique to prepare a sample of $^{39}$K in a magnetically-insensitive state with 95\% purity while maintaining a temperature of 6 $\mu$K. This versatile preparation scheme is particularly well suited to performing matter-wave interferometry with species exhibiting closely-separated hyperfine levels, such as the isotopes of lithium and potassium, and opens new possibilities for metrology with these atoms. We demonstrate the feasibility of such measurements by realizing an atomic gravimeter and a Ramsey-type spectrometer, both of which exhibit a state-of-the-art sensitivity for cold potassium.