Chromium Bose-Einstein Condensate Research Articles

Speed of Sound of a Bose–Einstein Condensate with Dipole–Dipole Interactions

In the present work the case of a chromium Bose-Einstein condensate is considered. The model includes not only the presence of the so-called contact interaction but also a long range and anisotropic dipole-dipole interaction has been included. Some thermodynamical properties are analyzed. For instance, the size of the condensate, chemical potential, speed of sound, number of particles, etc., are deduced. It will be shown that this dipole-dipole interaction implies the emergence of anisotropy, for example, in the speed of sound. The possible use of this anisotropy as a tool for the analyze of dissipative mechanisms, for instance, Landau's criterion for superfluidity, will be also discussed.

Anisotropic Excitation Spectrum of a Dipolar Quantum Bose Gas

We measure the excitation spectrum of a dipolar chromium Bose-Einstein condensate with Raman-Bragg spectroscopy. The energy spectrum depends on the orientation of the dipoles with respect to the excitation momentum, demonstrating an anisotropy that originates from the dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms. We compare our results with the Bogoliubov theory based on the local density approximation and, at large excitation wavelengths, with the numerical simulations of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Our results show an anisotropy of the speed of sound.

Stability of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional lattice

We experimentally show that dipolar interaction can stabilize otherwise unstable many-body systems like an attractive Bose gas. In a one dimensional lattice the repulsive dipolar on-site interaction balances negative scattering lengths up to -17 Bohr radii and stabilizes the chromium Bose-Einstein condensate. For reduced lattice depths, the dipolar stabilization turns into destabilization. We probe the full cross-over between the two regimes and our results are in excellent agreement with theoretical calculations, which reveal significant dipolar inter-site interactions.

Strong dipolar effects in a quantum ferrofluid

Symmetry-breaking interactions have a crucial role in many areas of physics, ranging from classical ferrofluids to superfluid (3)He and d-wave superconductivity. For superfluid quantum gases, a variety of new physical phenomena arising from the symmetry-breaking interaction between electric or magnetic dipoles are expected. Novel quantum phases in optical lattices, such as chequerboard or supersolid phases, are predicted for dipolar bosons. Dipolar interactions can also enrich considerably the physics of quantum gases with internal degrees of freedom. Arrays of dipolar particles could be used for efficient quantum information processing. Here we report the realization of a chromium Bose-Einstein condensate with strong dipolar interactions. By using a Feshbach resonance, we reduce the usual isotropic contact interaction, such that the anisotropic magnetic dipole-dipole interaction between 52Cr atoms becomes comparable in strength. This induces a change of the aspect ratio of the atom cloud; for strong dipolar interactions, the inversion of ellipticity during expansion (the usual 'smoking gun' evidence for a Bose-Einstein condensate) can be suppressed. These effects are accounted for by taking into account the dipolar interaction in the superfluid hydrodynamic equations governing the dynamics of the gas, in the same way as classical ferrofluids can be described by including dipolar terms in the classical hydrodynamic equations. Our results are a first step in the exploration of the unique properties of quantum ferrofluids.

Magnetostriction in a degenerate quantum gas

We have investigated magnetic dipole–dipole interaction in a gas of Bose–Einstein condensed chromium atoms. The shape of the gaseous cloud within the atom trap and during expansion after release from the trap shows an anisotropic deformation that depends on the direction of a homogeneous magnetic field which magnetizes the Cr cloud but leaves the atom trap unchanged. This effect constitutes the observation of magnetostriction in a gas, previously seen only in magnetic solids and liquids. Our results are consistent with the theory of dipolar quantum gases. Being the first experimentally accessible model system to study dipole–dipole interactions in gases, a chromium Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) opens fascinating perspectives, e.g. for new quantum phases or magnetic ordering of spin-3 multi-component dipolar BECs.

Comparing Contact and Dipolar Interactions in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

We have measured the relative strength epsilon dd of the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction compared with the contact interaction in a dipolar chromium Bose-Einstein condensate. We analyze the asymptotic velocities of expansion of the condensate with different orientations of the atomic magnetic moments. By comparing the experimental results with numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic equations for dipolar condensates, we obtain epsilon dd = 0.159+/-0.034. We use this result to determine the s-wave scattering length a = (5.08+/-1.06 x 10(-9)) m = (96+/-20) a0 of 52Cr. This is fully consistent with our previous measurements on the basis of Feshbach resonances and therefore confirms the validity of the theoretical approach used to describe the dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate.

Production of a chromium Bose–Einstein condensate

The recent achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation of chromium atoms [1] has opened longed-for experimental access to a degenerate quantum gas with long-range and anisotropic interaction. Due to the large magnetic moment of chromium atoms of 6 {$\mu$}B, in contrast to other Bose- Einstein condensates (BECs), magnetic dipole-dipole interaction plays an important role in a chromium BEC. Many new physical properties of degenerate gases arising from these magnetic forces have been predicted in the past and can now be studied experimentally. Besides these phenomena, the large dipole moment leads to a breakdown of standard methods for the creation of a chromium BEC. Cooling and trapping methods had to be adapted to the special electronic structure of chromium to reach the regime of quantum degeneracy. Some of them apply generally to gases with large dipolar forces. We present here a detailed discussion of the experimental techniques which are used to create a chromium BEC and alow us to produce pure condensates with up to {$10^5$} atoms in an optical dipole trap. We also describe the methods used to determine the trapping parameters.