Theory of input and output of atoms from an atomic trap

Abstract

We consider the interaction between a single-mode atomic trap and a set of external modes that are decribed by a continuum of eigenstates. This theory is designed to model output coupling from current and proposed Bose-Einstein condensation experiments and proposed models for atom lasers. This work generalizes the optical input-output formalism [M. J. Collett and C. Gardiner, Phys. Rev. A 30, 1386 (1984)].