110 research outputs found
Skyrmions in a ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate
The recently realized multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates provide
opportunities to explore the rich physics brought about by the spin degrees of
freedom. For instance, we can study spin waves and phase separation,
macroscopic quantum tunneling, Rabi oscillations, the coupling between spin
gradients and superfluid flow, squeezed spin states, vortices and other
topological excitations. Theoretically, there have been already some studies of
the ground-state properties of these systems and their line-like vortex
excitations. In analogy with nuclear physics or the quantum Hall effect, we
explore here the possibility of observing point-like topological excitations or
skyrmions. These are nontrivial spin textures that in principle can exist in a
spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. In particular, we investigate the stability of
skyrmions in a fictitious spin-1/2 condensate of Rb87 atoms. We find that
skyrmions can exist in this case only as a metastable state, but with a
lifetime of the order of, or even longer than, the typical lifetime of the
condensate itself. In addition to determining the size and the lifetime of the
skyrmion, we also present its spin texture and finally briefly consider its
dynamical properties.Comment: 4 pages (REVtex), 3 PDF figures. See also cond-mat/000237
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in a quenched ferromagnetic spinor Bose condensate
A central goal in condensed matter and modern atomic physics is the
exploration of many-body quantum phases and the universal characteristics of
quantum phase transitions in so far as they differ from those established for
thermal phase transitions. Compared with condensed-matter systems, atomic gases
are more precisely constructed and also provide the unique opportunity to
explore quantum dynamics far from equilibrium. Here we identify a second-order
quantum phase transition in a gaseous spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, a
quantum fluid in which superfluidity and magnetism, both associated with
symmetry breaking, are simultaneously realized. Rb spinor condensates
were rapidly quenched across this transition to a ferromagnetic state and
probed using in-situ magnetization imaging to observe spontaneous symmetry
breaking through the formation of spin textures, ferromagnetic domains and
domain walls. The observation of topological defects produced by this symmetry
breaking, identified as polar-core spin-vortices containing non-zero spin
current but no net mass current, represents the first phase-sensitive in-situ
detection of vortices in a gaseous superfluid.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Robust Digital Holography For Ultracold Atom Trapping
We have formulated and experimentally demonstrated an improved algorithm for
design of arbitrary two-dimensional holographic traps for ultracold atoms. Our
method builds on the best previously available algorithm, MRAF, and improves on
it in two ways. First, it allows for creation of holographic atom traps with a
well defined background potential. Second, we experimentally show that for
creating trapping potentials free of fringing artifacts it is important to go
beyond the Fourier approximation in modelling light propagation. To this end,
we incorporate full Helmholtz propagation into our calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Phase-slip induced dissipation in an atomic Bose-Hubbard system
Phase slips play a primary role in dissipation across a wide spectrum of
bosonic systems, from determining the critical velocity of superfluid helium to
generating resistance in thin superconducting wires. This subject has also
inspired much technological interest, largely motivated by applications
involving nanoscale superconducting circuit elements, e.g., standards based on
quantum phase-slip junctions. While phase slips caused by thermal fluctuations
at high temperatures are well understood, controversy remains over the role of
phase slips in small-scale superconductors. In solids, problems such as
uncontrolled noise sources and disorder complicate the study and application of
phase slips. Here we show that phase slips can lead to dissipation for a clean
and well-characterized Bose-Hubbard (BH) system by experimentally studying
transport using ultra-cold atoms trapped in an optical lattice. In contrast to
previous work, we explore a low velocity regime described by the 3D BH model
which is not affected by instabilities, and we measure the effect of
temperature on the dissipation strength. We show that the damping rate of
atomic motion-the analogue of electrical resistance in a solid-in the confining
parabolic potential fits well to a model that includes finite damping at zero
temperature. The low-temperature behaviour is consistent with the theory of
quantum tunnelling of phase slips, while at higher temperatures a cross-over
consistent with the transition to thermal activation of phase slips is evident.
Motion-induced features reminiscent of vortices and vortex rings associated
with phase slips are also observed in time-of-flight imaging.Comment: published in Nature 453, 76 (2008
Beyond Gross-Pitaevskii Mean Field Theory
A large number of effects related to the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein
Condensation (BEC) can be understood in terms of lowest order mean field
theory, whereby the entire system is assumed to be condensed, with thermal and
quantum fluctuations completely ignored. Such a treatment leads to the
Gross-Pitaevskii Equation (GPE) used extensively throughout this book. Although
this theory works remarkably well for a broad range of experimental parameters,
a more complete treatment is required for understanding various experiments,
including experiments with solitons and vortices. Such treatments should
include the dynamical coupling of the condensate to the thermal cloud, the
effect of dimensionality, the role of quantum fluctuations, and should also
describe the critical regime, including the process of condensate formation.
The aim of this Chapter is to give a brief but insightful overview of various
recent theories, which extend beyond the GPE. To keep the discussion brief,
only the main notions and conclusions will be presented. This Chapter
generalizes the presentation of Chapter 1, by explicitly maintaining
fluctuations around the condensate order parameter. While the theoretical
arguments outlined here are generic, the emphasis is on approaches suitable for
describing single weakly-interacting atomic Bose gases in harmonic traps.
Interesting effects arising when condensates are trapped in double-well
potentials and optical lattices, as well as the cases of spinor condensates,
and atomic-molecular coupling, along with the modified or alternative theories
needed to describe them, will not be covered here.Comment: Review Article (19 Pages) - To appear in 'Emergent Nonlinear
Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Theory and Experiment', Edited by
P.G. Kevrekidis, D.J. Frantzeskakis and R. Carretero-Gonzalez (Springer
Verlag
PAH mineralization and bacterial organotolerance in surface sediments of the Charleston Harbor estuary
Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in estuarine waters can adversely affect biota but watershed sources can be difficult to identify because these compounds are transient. Natural bacterial assemblages may respond to chronic, episodic exposure to SVOCs through selection of more organotolerant bacterial communities. We measured bacterial production, organotolerance and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mineralization in Charleston Harbor and compared surface sediment from stations near a known, permitted SVOC outfall (pulp mill effluent) to that from more pristine stations. Naphthalene additions inhibited an average of 77% of bacterial metabolism in sediments from the more pristine site (Wando River). Production in sediments nearest the outfall was only inhibited an average of 9% and in some cases, was actually stimulated. In general, the stations with the highest rates of bacterial production also were among those with the highest rates of PAH mineralization. This suggests that the capacity to mineralize PAH carbon is a common feature amongst the bacterial assemblage in these estuarine sediments and could account for an average of 5.6% of bacterial carbon demand (in terms of production) in the summer, 3.3% in the spring (April) and only 1.2% in winter (December)
Organizational Support and Contract Fulfillment as Moderators of the Relationship Between Preferred Work Status and Performance
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine organizational context variables as moderators of the relationship between preferred work status and job performance. The moderators were perceived organizational support (POS) and psychological contract fulfillment.
Design/Methodology/Approach
Survey data was collected from 164 participants working in a health and fitness organization. These participants ranged in age from 18 to 79 years old (M = 40, SD = 12.5) and held various positions including middle managers, clerical workers, maintenance workers, and sports trainers.
Findings
The relationship between preferred work status and extra-role performance was negative when POS was higher but not when POS was lower. Also, the relationship between preferred work status and extra-role performance was positive when contract fulfillment was lower but not when it was higher. No moderating effects were found when examining in-role performance.
Implications
Given the large and growing use of part-time workers it is important to understand differences across various subgroups of them in order to better inform human resource policies and practices. Specifically, the results highlight a key role for the management of reciprocity perceptions.
Originality/Value
The literature on part-time workers suggests there are important differences between employees who work part-time because they prefer it and those who work part-time but prefer to work full-time. Research regarding the relationship between preferred work status and performance has produced mixed results. This study helps reconcile conflicting results regarding the relationship between preferred work status and performance by examining the moderating effects of theoretically relevant variables
Controlled creation of a singular spinor vortex by circumventing the Dirac belt trick
Persistent topological defects and textures are particularly dramatic consequences of superfluidity. Among the most fascinating examples are the singular vortices arising from the rotational symmetry group SO(3), with surprising topological properties illustrated by Diracâs famous belt trick. Despite considerable interest, controlled preparation and detailed study of vortex lines with complex internal structure in fully three-dimensional spinor systems remains an outstanding experimental challenge. Here, we propose and implement a reproducible and controllable method for creating and detecting a singular SO(3) line vortex from the decay of a non-singular spin texture in a ferromagnetic spin-1 BoseâEinstein condensate. Our experiment explicitly demonstrates the SO(3) character and the unique spinor properties of the defect. Although the vortex is singular, its core fills with atoms in the topologically distinct polar magnetic phase. The resulting stable, coherent topological interface has analogues in systems ranging from condensed matter to cosmology and string theory
Momentum-Resolved Bragg Spectroscopy in Optical Lattices
Strongly correlated many-body systems show various exciting phenomena in
condensed matter physics such as high-temperature superconductivity and
colossal magnetoresistance. Recently, strongly correlated phases could also be
studied in ultracold quantum gases possessing analogies to solid-state physics,
but moreover exhibiting new systems such as Fermi-Bose mixtures and magnetic
quantum phases with high spin values. Particularly interesting systems here are
quantum gases in optical lattices with fully tunable lattice and atomic
interaction parameters. While in this context several concepts and ideas have
already been studied theoretically and experimentally, there is still great
demand for new detection techniques to explore these complex phases in detail.
Here we report on measurements of a fully momentum-resolved excitation
spectrum of a quantum gas in an optical lattice by means of Bragg spectroscopy.
The bandstructure is measured with high resolution at several lattice depths.
Interaction effects are identified and systematically studied varying density
and excitation fraction.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL
Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planetâs birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25â7.8 ÎŒm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10â100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed â using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement â using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL â in line with the stated mission objectives â will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
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