Nonequilibrium dynamics of fluctuations in an ultracold atomic mixture

Abstract

The nonequilibrium spin-changing dynamics of an ultracold mixture of lithium and sodium atoms reveals the importance of spin fluctuations for key observables. The authors show that the experimental control of fluctuations can give access to the dynamics of a long-lived metastable state, an instability region with strong growth of fluctuations, and a regime with an early approach to thermal equilibrium.