Abstract
We report on a study of the dynamics of decoherence of a matter-wave interferometer, consisting of a pair of low-dimensional cold atom condensates at finite temperature. We identify two distinct regimes in the time dependence of the coherence factor of the interferometer: quantum and classical. Explicit analytical results are obtained in both regimes. In particular, in the two-dimensional case in the classical (long time) regime, we find that the dynamics of decoherence is universal, exhibiting a power-law decay with an exponent, proportional to the ratio of the temperature to the Kosterlitz-Thouless temperature of a single 2D condensate. In the one-dimensional case in the classical regime we find a universal nonanalytic time dependence of decoherence, which is a consequence of the nonhydrodynamic nature of damping in 1D liquids.
Highlights
We report on a study of the dynamics of decoherence of a matter-wave interferometer, consisting of a pair of low-dimensional cold atom condensates at finite temperature
In the two-dimensional case in the classical regime, we find that the dynamics of decoherence is universal, exhibiting a power-law decay with an exponent, proportional to the ratio of the temperature to the Kosterlitz-Thouless temperature of a single 2D condensate
In the quantum case equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties are inseparable and dynamical relaxation processes and dissipation may have a profound effect on the nature of equilibrium phases and phase transitions
Summary
2D) cold atom condensates that are prepared from a single phase coherent condensate by splitting it, using an optical lattice or a radio-frequency-field-induced potential on an atom chip It has been recently demonstrated by a number of groups [3] that it is possible to split a single condensate in such a way that the phase coherence between the two halves is initially well preserved. We can identify two distinct regimes in the time dependence of the decoherence process: quantum and classical. Since at short times the memory of the initial state of the split system is still preserved, the quantum decoherence process is strongly influenced by the nature of this initial state, which in turn is determined by the process, by which a single condensate is split into two.
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