Gaseous Bose-Einstein Condensates Research Articles

The Repulsive Casimir-Type Forces of a Weakly Interacting Bose–Einstein Condensate Gas

The Repulsive Casimir-Type Forces of a Weakly Interacting Bose–Einstein Condensate Gas

Stability in turbulence: The interplay between shocks and vorticity in a superfluid with higher-order dispersion

Higher-order dispersion can lead to intriguing dynamics that are becoming a focus of modern hydrodynamics research. Such systems occur naturally, for example in shallow water waves and nonlinear optics, for which several types of novel dispersive shocks structures have been identified. Here we introduce ultracold atoms as a tunable quantum simulations platform for higher-order systems. Degenerate quantum gases are well controlled model systems for the experimental study of dispersive hydrodynamics in superfluids and have been used to investigate phenomena such as vortices, solitons, dispersive shock waves and quantum turbulence. With the advent of Raman-induced spin-orbit coupling, the dispersion of a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate can be modified in a flexible way, allowing for detailed investigations of higher-order dispersion dynamics. Here we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of shock structures generated in such a system. The breaking of Galilean invariance by the spin-orbit coupling allows two different types of shock structures to emerge simultaneously in a single system. Numerical simulations suggest that the behavior of these shock structures is affected by interactions with vortices in a manner reminiscent of emerging viscous hydrodynamics due to an underlying quantum turbulence in the system. This result suggests that spin-orbit coupling can be used as a powerful means to tun the effective viscosity in cold-atom experiments serving as quantum simulators of turbulent hydrodynamics, with applications from condensed matter and optics to quantum simulations of neutron stars.

Rotating Binary Bose-Einstein Condensates and Vortex Clusters in Quantum Droplets.

Quantum droplets may form out of a gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate, stabilized by quantum fluctuations beyond mean field. Determining the ground state of a rotating binary condensate, we show that multiple singly quantized vortices may form in these droplets at moderate angular momenta in two dimensions. Droplets carrying these precursors of an Abrikosov lattice remain self-bound for certain timescales after switching off an initial harmonic confinement. Intriguingly, we find evidence of a metastable persistent current in these new types of binary condensates. We discuss how this finding can be used to experimentally generate vortex-carrying quantum droplets.

Conformal symmetry of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates and massive Nambu-Goldstone modes

The Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) or nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation relevant to ultracold atomic gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates possess a modified Schr\"odinger symmetry in two spatial dimensions, in the presence of a harmonic trapping potential, an (artificial) constant magnetic field (or rotation) and an electric field of a quadratic electrostatic potential. We find that a variance and a center of a trapped gas with or without a vorticity can be regarded as massive Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes associated with spontaneous breaking of the modified Schr\"odinger symmetry. We show that the Noether theorem for the modified Schr\"odinger symmetry gives universal equations of motion which describe exact time-evolutions of the trapped gases such as a harmonic oscillation, a cyclotron motion and a breathing oscillation with frequencies determined by the symmetry independently of the details of the system. We further construct an exact effective action for all the NG modes.

Testing quantum gravity

The search for a theory of quantum gravity is the most fundamental problem in all of theoretical physics, but there are as yet no experimental results at all to guide this endeavor. What seems to be needed is a pragmatic way to test if gravitation really occurs between quantum objects or not. In this paper, we suggest such a potential way out of this deadlock, utilizing macroscopic quantum systems; superfluid helium, gaseous Bose–Einstein condensates and “macroscopic” molecules. It turns out that true quantum gravity effects — here defined as observable gravitational interactions between truly quantum objects — could and should be seen (if they occur in nature) using existing technology. A falsification of the low-energy limit in the accessible weak-field regime would also falsify the full theory of quantum gravity, making it enter the realm of testable, potentially falsifiable theories, i.e. becoming real physics after almost a century of pure theorizing. If weak-field gravity between quantum objects is shown to be absent (in the regime where the approximation should apply), we know that gravity then is a strictly classical phenomenon absent at the quantum level.

Thomas Walter Bannerman Kibble

Thomas Walter Bannerman Kibble

К теории рассеяния света бозе-эйнштейновским конденсатом разреженного газа

К теории рассеяния света бозе-эйнштейновским конденсатом разреженного газа

Vortices and turbulence in trapped atomic condensates.

After more than a decade of experiments generating and studying the physics of quantized vortices in atomic gas Bose-Einstein condensates, research is beginning to focus on the roles of vortices in quantum turbulence, as well as other measures of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates. Such research directions have the potential to uncover new insights into quantum turbulence, vortices, and superfluidity and also explore the similarities and differences between quantum and classical turbulence in entirely new settings. Here we present a critical assessment of theoretical and experimental studies in this emerging field of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates.

Experimental Realization of Josephson Junctions for an Atom SQUID

We report the creation of a pair of Josephson junctions on a toroidal dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), a configuration that is the cold atom analog of the well-known dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). We observe Josephson effects, measure the critical current of the junctions, and find dynamic behavior that is in good agreement with the simple Josephson equations for a tunnel junction with the ideal sinusoidal current-phase relation expected for the parameters of the experiment. The junctions and toroidal trap are created with the painted potential, a time-averaged optical dipole potential technique which will allow scaling to more complex BEC circuit geometries than the single atom-SQUID case reported here. Since rotation plays the same role in the atom SQUID as magnetic field does in the dc SQUID magnetometer, the device has potential as a compact rotation sensor.

Two polaron flavors of the Bose-Einstein condensate impurity

We show that repulsive neutral-atom impurities in a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) can self-localize in bubble polaron states formally analogous to electron bubbles in helium. The BEC is then the first impurity host medium known to exhibit both Landau-Pekar polaron states akin to that of self-localized electrons in a dielectric lattice and self-localized bubble polaron states. We find that the neutral BEC-impurity system is fully characterized by only two dimensionless coupling constants and that a single BEC impurity can be steered adiabatically from the Landau-Pekar to the bubble region. The adiabatic change is that of a crossover, not a transition.

Bose Gases with Nonzero Spin

Gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates with nonzero spin feature multicomponent order parameters that reflect the internal degrees of freedom. They exhibit a rich variety of superfluid and magnetic phenomena similar or complementary to those of superfluid helium-3. The unprecedented degree of manipulability of atomic gases makes spinor condensates a unique playground for exploring symmetry breaking, topological excitations, and the interplay between superfluidity and magnetism. An overview of these subjects is provided.

Light-induced torque for the generation of persistent current flow in atomic gas Bose-Einstein condensates

We show that a persistent current flow in an atomic gas Bose-Einstein condensate could be realized when the system is subject to two counterpropagating Laguerre-Gaussian so-called doughnut beams, creating a toroidal trap. The theory is developed involving a two-photon process within three atomic levels leading to a quantized light-induced torque which rotates the atoms, generating an atomic current flow in the ring. We also show that it is possible for the torque to be controlled and even switched on and off by varying the frequencies of the incident light, thereby allowing a mechanism for the control of the current flow.

Landau-Ginzburg perspective of finite-temperature phase diagrams of a two-component Fermi-Bose mixture

We consider a mixture of two-component Fermi and (one-component) Bose gases under the repulsive Bose-Fermi and attractive Fermi-Fermi interactions. We perform a systematic study of the finite-temperature phase diagrams in the chemical potential space, identifying, using the Landau-Ginzburg theory, the features generic to the phase diagrams within the validity of our model. We apply the theory to explore the physics of correlated BCS pairing among fermions in a tightly confined trap surrounded by a large Bose-Einstein condensate gas.

Frustration effects in rapidly rotating square and triangular optical lattices

We discuss the ground state of the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard (BH) Hamiltonian, relevant for rotating gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates, by employing \mathrm{U}\left(1\right) quantum rotor approach and the topologically constrained path integral that includes a summation over \mathrm{U}\left(1\right) topological charge. We derive an effective quantum action for the BH model, which enables a non-perturbative treatment of the zero-temperature phase transition. We calculate the ground-state phase diagram, analytically deriving maximum repulsive energy for several rational values of the frustration rotation parameter f=0, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, and 1/6 for the square and triangular lattice, which improves upon previous theoretical treatments. The ground state of the rotating Bose-Einstein condensates on a triangular lattice appears to be most stable against the effects of rotation. Performed calculations revealed strong dependence of the critical ratio of the kinetic energy to the repulsive on-site energy, that separates the global coherent from the insulating state, on topology of the lattice.

Bragg Spectroscopy of a Strongly InteractingRb85Bose-Einstein Condensate

We report on measurements of the excitation spectrum of a strongly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate. A magnetic-field Feshbach resonance is used to tune atom-atom interactions in the condensate and to reach a regime where quantum depletion and beyond mean-field corrections to the condensate chemical potential are significant. We use two-photon Bragg spectroscopy to probe the condensate excitation spectrum; our results demonstrate the onset of beyond mean-field effects in a gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate.

Maxwell-Schrödinger equations for a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate coupled to an electromagnetic field

We give a general formulation of the semiclassical approach to solving the problem of interaction between a Bose-Einstein condensate of dilute gas and electromagnetic radiation without using the commonly applied mean-field approximation. We suggest variants of the systems of Maxwell-Schrodinger equations whose solution describes such effects as superradiant light scattering, light beam amplification, atomic wave (atomic laser) amplification, induced transparency, and reduction in the group velocity of light.

Stationary and Nonstationary Fluid Flow of a Bose-Einstein Condensate Through a Penetrable Barrier

We experimentally study the fluid flow induced by a broad, penetrable barrier moving through an elongated dilute gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate. The barrier is created by a laser beam swept through the condensate, and the resulting dipole potential can be either attractive or repulsive. We examine both cases and find regimes of stable and unstable fluid flow: At slow speeds of the barrier, the fluid flow is steady due to the superfluidity of the condensate. At intermediate speeds, we observe an unsteady regime in which the condensate gets filled with dark solitons. At faster speeds, soliton formation completely ceases, and a remarkable absence of excitation in the condensate is seen again.

Alternating current Josephson effect and resonant superconducting transport through vibrating Nb nanowires

In 1962, Josephson made a celebrated prediction: when a constant voltage is applied across a thin insulator separating two superconductors, it will generate an oscillating current. These oscillations are ubiquitous in superconducting weak links of various geometries, and analogues have been found in other macroscopic quantum systems, such as superfluids and gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates. The interplay between the oscillating current and external microwave radiation of matching frequency (Shapiro steps) or with internal electrodynamic resonances (Fiske effect) appear as changes in the current-voltage characteristics of superconducting tunnel junctions and provide further insight into the phenomenon. Here, we report measurements and theoretical studies suggesting that Josephson current oscillations interact with atomic-scale mechanical motion as well. We formed a niobium dimer nanowire that acts as a weak link between two superconducting (bulk) niobium electrodes. We find features in the differential conductance through the dimer which we believe correspond to excitations of the dimer vibrational modes by Josephson oscillations and support our results with theoretical simulations.

Limits to the analog Hawking temperature in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Quasi-one-dimensional outflow from a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate reservoir is a promising system for the creation of analog Hawking radiation. We use numerical modeling to show that stable sonic horizons exist in such a system under realistic conditions, taking into account the transverse dimensions and three-body loss. We find that loss limits the analog Hawking temperatures achievable in the hydrodynamic regime, with sodium condensates allowing the highest temperatures. A condensate of $30\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}000$ atoms, with transverse confinement frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}=6800\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2\ensuremath{\pi}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Hz}$, yields horizon temperatures of about $20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nK}$ over a period of $50\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}$. This is at least four times higher than for other atoms commonly used for Bose-Einstein condensates.

Symmetry breaking in scalar, spinor, and rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

A gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate is shown to exhibit a rich variety of symmetry breakings accompanied by quantum phase transitions. We review our recent studies from the viewpoint of spontaneous symmetry breaking.