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Title

Growth dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a dimple trap without cooling

Author(s)

Garrett, Michael C.;  Ratnapala, Adrian;  Van Ooijen, Eikbert D.;  Vale, Christopher J.;  Weegink, Kristian;  Schnelle, Sebastian K.;  Vainio, Otto;  Heckenberg, Norman R.;  Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina;  Davis, Matthew J.

Abstract

We study the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a cigar-shaped three-dimensional harmonic trap, induced by the controlled addition of an attractive 'dimple' potential along the weak axis. In this manner we are able to induce condensation without cooling due to a localized increase in the phase-space density. We perform a quantitative analysis of the thermodynamic transformation in both the sudden and adiabatic regimes for a range of dimple widths and depths. We find good agreement with equilibrium calculations based on self-consistent semiclassical Hartree-Fock theory describing the condensate and thermal cloud. We observe that there is an optimal dimple depth that results in a maximum in the condensate fraction. We also study the nonequilibrium dynamics of condensate formation in the sudden turn-on regime, finding good agreement for the observed time dependence of the condensate fraction with calculations based on quantum kinetic theory.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences. Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy

Source

Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Vol. 83, no. 1 (Jan 2011), article no. 013630

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics;  0204 Condensed Matter Physics;  0205 Optical Physics

Keyword(s)

Bose-Einstein condensates;  Condensate formation;  Condensate growth;  Dimples;  Temperature;  Thermodynamics

Publisher

American Physical Society

ISSN

1050-2947

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.83.013630

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 American Physical Society. The published version of the paper is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publisher.

Research Projects

Quantum atom optics and single atom detection with micro-Bose-Einstein condensates, Australian Research Council grant number DP0343094
Superfluidity and metrology with ring shaped Bose Einstein condensates, Australian Research Council grant number DP0985142

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