Monitoring squeezed collective modes of a one-dimensional Bose gas after an interaction quench using density-ripple analysis

Abstract

We investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics following a sudden quench of the interaction strength, in a one-dimensional quasi-condensate trapped at the surface of an atom chip. Within a linearized approximation, the system is described by independent collective modes and the quench squeezes the phase space distribution of each mode, leading to a subsequent breathing of each quadrature. We show that the collective modes are resolved by the power spectrum of density ripples which appear after a short time of flight. This allows us to experimentally probe the expected breathing phenomenon. Our results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions which take the longitudinal harmonic confinement into account.