Anharmonic Trap Research Articles

On the third critical speed for rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

We study a two-dimensional rotating Bose-Einstein condensate confined by an anharmonic trap in the framework of the Gross-Pitaevskii theory. We consider a rapid rotation regime close to the transition to a giant vortex state. It was proven in Correggi et al. [J. Math. Phys. 53, 095203 (2012)] that such a transition occurs when the angular velocity is of order ε−4, with ε−2 denoting the coefficient of the nonlinear term in the Gross-Pitaevskii functional and ε ≪ 1 (Thomas-Fermi regime). In this paper, we identify a finite value Ωc such that if Ω = Ω0/ε4 with Ω0 > Ωc, the condensate is in the giant vortex phase. Under the same condition, we prove a refined energy asymptotics and an estimate of the winding number of any Gross-Pitaevskii minimizer.

Parametric cooling of a degenerate Fermi gas in an optical trap

We demonstrate a novel technique for cooling a degenerate Fermi gas in a crossed-beam optical dipole trap, where high-energy atoms can be selectively removed from the trap by modulating the stiffness of the trapping potential with anharmonic trapping frequencies. We measure the dependence of the cooling effect on the frequency and amplitude of the parametric modulations. It is found that the large anharmonicity along the axial trapping potential allows to generate a degenerate Fermi gas with anisotropic energy distribution, in which the cloud energy in the axial direction can be reduced to the ground state value.

Low-lying modes of trapped condensed atoms in anharmonic trap

We describe the physical properties of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEc) confined by a three-dimensional harmonic plus cubic and quartic trap. To this end, we solve the time-dependent Gross–Pitaevskii (GP) equation within a variational approach in order to obtain a set of second ordinary differential equations for the condensate widths. We then discuss in detail the low-lying oscillation modes, in an anharmonic trap where the anharmonicity of the confining potential leads to significant effect on the collective excitations of the system.

Conditions for order and chaos in the dynamics of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate in coordinate and energy space

We investigate numerically conditions for order and chaos in the dynamics of an interacting Bose- Einstein condensate (BEC) confined by an external trap cut off by a hard-wall box potential. The BEC is stirred by a laser to induce excitations manifesting as irregular spatial and energy oscillations of the trapped cloud. Adding laser stirring to the external trap results in an effective time-varying trapping frequency in connection with the dynamically changing combined external+laser potential trap. The resulting dynamics are analyzed by plotting their trajectories in coordinate phase space and in energy space. The Lyapunov exponents are computed to confirm the existence of chaos in the latter space. Quantum effects and trap anharmonicity are demonstrated to generate chaos in energy space, thus confirming its presence and implicating either quantum effects or trap anharmonicity as its generator. The presence of chaos in energy space does not necessarily translate into chaos in coordinate space. In general, a dynamic trapping frequency is found to promote chaos in a trapped BEC. An apparent means to suppress chaos in a trapped BEC is achieved by increasing the characteristic scale of the external trap with respect to the condensate size.

Engineering photonic Floquet Hamiltonians through Fabry–Pérot resonators

In this paper we analyze an optical Fabry–Pérot resonator as a time-periodic driving of the (2D) optical field repeatedly traversing the resonator, uncovering that resonator twist produces a synthetic magnetic field applied to the light within the resonator, while mirror aberrations produce relativistic dynamics, anharmonic trapping and spacetime curvature. We develop a Floquet formalism to compute the effective Hamiltonian for the 2D field, generalizing the idea that the intra-cavity optical field corresponds to an ensemble of non-interacting, massive, harmonically trapped particles. This work illuminates the extraordinary potential of optical resonators for exploring the physics of quantum fluids in gauge fields and exotic space–times.

Hidden harmonic quantum states in proteins: Did Davydov get the sign wrong?

We revisit mid-IR pump–probe experiments at the FELIX picosecond Free Electron Laser which probed the vibrational dynamics of the α-helix rich protein in search of long-lived anharmonic trapped vibrational states (solitons). We analyze and try to understand something puzzling that we observed in the context of unusual ‘hidden’ quantum phenomena in proteins which probably are of no biological consequences, but bears re-examination. We observed in a narrow (0.5 cm−1) spectral range of the amide-I band a very large response in terms of degenerate 4-wave mixing scattering. We propose that this narrow but strong scattering signal is not due to anharmonic trapping but rather is the imaginary (index of refraction) component of a super-linear response of the amide I band to high levels of vibrational excitation.

Undamped nonequilibrium dynamics of a nondegenerate Bose gas in a 3D isotropic trap

We investigate anomalous damping of the monopole mode of a non-degenerate 3D Bose gas under isotropic harmonic confinement as recently reported by the JILA TOP trap experiment (Lobser et al in preparation). Given a realistic confining potential, we develop a model for studying collective modes that includes the effects of anharmonic corrections to a harmonic potential. By studying the influence of these trap anharmonicities throughout a range of temperatures and collisional regimes, we find that the damping is caused by the joint mechanisms of dephasing and collisional relaxation. Furthermore, the model is complimented by Monte Carlo simulations which are in fair agreement with data from the JILA experiment.

Two-body atomic system in a one-dimensional anharmonic trap: The energy spectrum

We numerically investigate the following two-body stationary Schrodinger equation (SE): \(\left\{ { - \frac{{{{\rlap{--} h}^2}}}{{2m}}\frac{\partial }{{x_1^2}} - \frac{{{{\rlap{--} h}^2}}}{{2m}}\frac{\partial }{{x_2^2}} + V\left( {{x_2}} \right) + g\partial \left( {{x_1} - {x_2}} \right)} \right\}x\Psi \left( {{x_1},{x_2}} \right) = E\Psi \left( {{x_1},{x_2}} \right),\) where \({x_1},{x_2} \in \mathbb{R},V\left( {{x_1}} \right) = {V_0}{\sin ^2}\left( {{k_x}{x_i}} \right)\) is the potential describing the interaction of atoms with a trap and gδ(x1–x2) is the interatomic potential. Previously, a similar problem has been solved analytically for the harmonic interaction \({V_h}\left( {{x_i}} \right) = \frac{1}{2}m\omega x_i^2\) with the trap, which leads to the separation of coordinates \(y = \frac{{{x_1} + {x_2}}}{{\sqrt 2 }},{\kern 1pt} x = \frac{{{x_1} - {x_2}}}{{\sqrt 2 }}\) for the center-of-mass and relative motion. The anharmonicity of the trap couples these motions and, there-fore, the problem becomes significantly more complicated. In previous works, the anharmonicity Va = V–Vh of the trap has been taken into account in the framework of perturbation theory. In this work, the energy level shifts of a two-body atomic system are calculated beyond the perturbation theory for different magnitudes of parameter g of the interatomic interaction. The results are compared to those computed using the perturbation theory.

Resonances in ultracold dipolar atomic and molecular gases

A previously developed approach for the numerical treatment of two particles that are confined in a finite optical-lattice potential and interact via an arbitrary isotropic interaction potential has been extended to incorporate an additional anisotropic dipole–dipole interaction (DDI). The interplay of a model but realistic short-range Born–Oppenheimer potential and the DDI for two confined particles is investigated. A variation of the strength of the DDI leads to diverse resonance phenomena. In a harmonic confinement potential some resonances show similarities to s-wave scattering resonances while in an anharmonic trapping potential like the one of an optical lattice additional inelastic confinement-induced dipolar resonances occur. The latter are due to a coupling of the relative and center-of-mass motion caused by the anharmonicity of the external confinement.

Simulation of the elementary evolution operator with the motional states of an ion in an anharmonic trap.

Following a recent proposal of L. Wang and D. Babikov [J. Chem. Phys. 137, 064301 (2012)], we theoretically illustrate the possibility of using the motional states of a Cd(+) ion trapped in a slightly anharmonic potential to simulate the single-particle time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The simulated wave packet is discretized on a spatial grid and the grid points are mapped on the ion motional states which define the qubit network. The localization probability at each grid point is obtained from the population in the corresponding motional state. The quantum gate is the elementary evolution operator corresponding to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of the simulated system. The corresponding matrix can be estimated by any numerical algorithm. The radio-frequency field which is able to drive this unitary transformation among the qubit states of the ion is obtained by multi-target optimal control theory. The ion is assumed to be cooled in the ground motional state, and the preliminary step consists in initializing the qubits with the amplitudes of the initial simulated wave packet. The time evolution of the localization probability at the grids points is then obtained by successive applications of the gate and reading out the motional state population. The gate field is always identical for a given simulated potential, only the field preparing the initial wave packet has to be optimized for different simulations. We check the stability of the simulation against decoherence due to fluctuating electric fields in the trap electrodes by applying dissipative Lindblad dynamics.

Sudden expansion of a one-dimensional bose gas from power-law traps.

We analyze free expansion of a trapped one-dimensional Bose gas after a sudden release from the confining trap potential. By using the stationary phase and local density approximations, we show that the long-time asymptotic density profile and the momentum distribution of the gas are determined by the initial distribution of Bethe rapidities (quasimomenta) and hence can be obtained from the solutions to the Lieb-Liniger equations in the thermodynamic limit. For expansion from a harmonic trap, and in the limits of very weak and very strong interactions, we recover the self-similar scaling solutions known from the hydrodynamic approach. For all other power-law traps and arbitrary interaction strengths, the expansion is not self-similar and shows strong dependence of the density profile evolution on the trap anharmonicity. We also characterize dynamical fermionization of the expanding cloud in terms of correlation functions describing phase and density fluctuations.

Planar geometry inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device

In the classic gridded inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion reactor, ion bombardment of the grid leads to heating, thermionic electron emission, significant power loss, and ultimately melting of the grid. Gridless IEC devices have sought to overcome these limitations. Klein reported a gridless device in which ions are circulated as a linear beam in an electrostatic analogue of an optical resonator. To overcome limits of stored ions due to space charge effects at the turning regions, the device employed multiple overlapping traps. The work reported here seeks to further increase the turning region space in a gridless trap by employing a planar geometry. Ion trapping in the planar device was examined by simulating trajectories of 2H+ ions with SIMION 8.1 software. Simulations were carried out using multiple potentials as in Klein's device and for a single potential trap as a planar analogue of the anharmonic ion trap. Scattering by background gas was simulated using a hard sphere collision model, and the results suggested the device will require operation at low pressure with a separate ion source.

Thermometry via light shifts in optical lattices.

For atoms or molecules in optical lattices, conventional thermometry methods are often unsuitable due to low particle numbers or a lack of cycling transitions. However, a differential spectroscopic light shift can map temperature onto the line shape with a low sensitivity to trap anharmonicity. We study narrow molecular transitions to demonstrate precise frequency-based lattice thermometry, as well as carrier cooling. This approach should be applicable down to nanokelvin temperatures. We also discuss how the thermal light shift can affect the accuracy of optical lattice clocks.

Precision measurement of a trapping potential for an ultracold gas

Abstract Parametric excitation of ultracold atomic gases in optical dipole traps strongly depends on the trap anharmonicity. For non-interacting gases, the anharmonicity prevents energy input beyond certain level. We use this as a basis for precision measurement of trap parameters. The frequencies and depth are derived from comparison of the excitation spectrum to models, where the anharmonicity is treated non-perturbatively. Measurements are done for both quantum and classical motion of trapped atoms. For the classical motion, the validity of the model is crosschecked in an independent experiment.

Design Optimization for Anharmonic Linear Surface-Electrode Ion Trap

An accurate and rapid method is proposed to optimize anharmonic linear surface-electrode ion trap design. Based on the method, we analyze the impact of the architectural parameters, including the width, number, and applied voltage of prerequisite active electrodes, on the number and spacing of trapped ions. Sets of optimal anharmonic trap design are given. Then the optimal designs are verified by using an ant colony optimization algorithm. The results show that the maximum ion position errors and maximum ion spacing errors are less than 1 μm up to 80. The mean of the maximum errors is nearly linear with respect to the number of trapped ions.

Wave Packet Dynamics of Superfluid Fermi Gases in an Anharmonic Trap

We investigate the collective excitations of a one-dimensional ultracold Fermi gas in the crossover from a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superfluid to a Bose-Einstein condensate. The trap we consider is a quadratic plus quartic potential in view of the relevant experimental conditions. Using variational approaches, the coupled equations of motions for the center-of-mass coordinate of the Superfluid Fermi gas and its width are derived. Then, two low-energy excitation modes are obtained analytically. The frequency shift induced by the anharmonic distortion, and the collapse and revival of the collective excitations originating from the nonlinear coupling between the two modes are discussed.

Condensate fraction and critical temperature of interacting Bose gas in anharmonic trap

By using a correlated many body method and using the realistic van der Waals potential we study several statistical measures like the specific heat, transition temperature and the condensate fraction of the interacting Bose gas trapped in an anharmonic potential. As the quadratic plus a quartic confinement makes the trap more tight, the transition temperature increases which makes more favourable condition to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) experimentally. BEC in 3D isotropic harmonic potential is also critically studied, the correction to the critical temperature due to finite number of atoms and also the correction due to inter-atomic interaction are calculated by the correlated many-body method. Comparison and discussion with the mean-field results are presented.

Interferometry with non-classical motional states of a Bose-Einstein condensate.

The Ramsey interferometer is a prime example of precise control at the quantum level. It is usually implemented using internal states of atoms, molecules or ions, for which powerful manipulation procedures are now available. Whether it is possible to control external degrees of freedom of more complex, interacting many-body systems at this level remained an open question. Here we demonstrate a two-pulse Ramsey-type interferometer for non-classical motional states of a Bose–Einstein condensate in an anharmonic trap. The control sequences used to manipulate the condensate wavefunction are obtained from optimal control theory and are directly optimized to maximize the interferometric contrast. They permit a fast manipulation of the atomic ensemble compared to the intrinsic decay processes and many-body dephasing effects. This allows us to reach an interferometric contrast of 92% in the experimental implementation.

Duration of local violations of the second law of thermodynamics along single trajectories in phase space.

We define the violation fraction ν as the cumulative fraction of time that the entropy change is negative during single realizations of processes in phase space. This quantity depends on both the number of degrees of freedom N and the duration of the time interval τ. In the large-τ and large-N limit we show that, for ergodic and microreversible systems, the mean value of ν scales as 〈ν(N,τ)〉 ∼ (τN(1/1+α))(-1). The exponent α is positive and generally depends on the protocol for the external driving forces, being α = 1 for a constant drive. As an example, we study a nontrivial model where the fluctuations of the entropy production are non-Gaussian: an elastic line driven at a constant rate by an anharmonic trap. In this case we show that the scaling of 〈ν〉 with N and τ agrees with our result. Finally, we discuss how this scaling law may break down in the vicinity of a continuous phase transition.

Dipolar Bose gas in a highly anharmonic trap

By means of mean-field theory, we have studied the structure and excitation spectrum of a purely dipolar Bose gas in pancake-shaped trap where the confinement in the x-y plane is provided by a highly anharmonic potential resulting in an almost uniform confinement in the plane. We show that the stable condensates is characterized by marked radially structured density profiles. The stability diagram is calculated by independently varying the strength of the interaction and the trap geometry. By computing the Bogoliubov excitation spectrum near the instability line we show that soft "angular" rotons are responsible for the collapse of the system. The free expansion of the cloud after the trap is released is also studied by means of time-dependent calculations, showing that a prolate, cigar-shaped condensate is dynamically stabilized during the expansion, which would otherwise collapse. Dipolar condensates rotating with sufficiently high angular velocity show the formation of multiply-quantized giant vortices, while the condensates acquire a ring-shaped form.