532 research outputs found
Evaporative cooling of an atomic beam
We present a theoretical analysis of the evaporative cooling of an atomic
beam propagating in a magnetic guide. Cooling is provided by transverse
evaporation. The atomic dynamics inside the guide is analyzed by solving the
Boltzmann equation with two different approaches: an approximate analytical
ansatz and a Monte-Carlo simulation. Within their domain of validity, these two
methods are found to be in very good agreement with each other. They allow us
to determine how the phase-space density and the flux of the beam vary along
its direction of propagation. We find a significant increase for the
phase-space density along the guide for realistic experimental parameters. By
extrapolation, we estimate the length of the beam needed to reach quantum
degeneracy.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, to be published in EPJ D, revised versio
Instabilities of wave function monopoles in Bose-Einstein condensates
We present analytic and numerical results for a class of monopole solutions
to the two-component Gross-Pitaevski equation for a two-species Bose condensate
in an effectively two-dimensional trap. We exhibit dynamical instabilities
involving vortex production as one species pours through another, from which we
conclude that the sub-optical sharpness of potentials exerted by matter waves
makes condensates ideal tools for manipulating condensates. We also show that
there are two equally valid but drastically different hydrodynamic descriptions
of a two-component condensate, and illustrate how different phenomena may
appear simpler in each.Comment: 4 pages, 9 figures (compressed figures become legible when zoomed or
when paper is actually printed
Dissipative Dynamics of an Open Bose Einstein Condensate
As an atomic Bose Einstein condensate (BEC) is coupled to a source of
uncondensed atoms at the same temperature and to a sink (extraction towards an
atom laser) the idealized description in terms of a Gross-Pitaevsky equation
(GP) no longer holds. Under suitable physical assumptions we show that the
dissipative BEC obeys a Complex Ginzburg Landau equation (CGL) and for some
parameter range it undergoes a space time patterning. As a consequence, the
density of BEC atoms within the trap displays non trivial space time
correlations, which can be detected by monitoring the density profile of the
outgoing atom laser. The patterning condition requires a negative scattering
length, as e.g. in Li. In such a case we expect a many domain collapsed
regime, rather than a single one as reported for a closed BEC.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, submitt. to Optics Comm., 18th Aug. 99 (special
issue Scully Festschrift
Retroactive quantum jumps in a strongly-coupled atom-field system
We investigate a novel type of conditional dynamic that occurs in the
strongly-driven Jaynes-Cummings model with dissipation. Extending the work of
Alsing and Carmichael [Quantum Opt. {\bf 3}, 13 (1991)], we present a combined
numerical and analytic study of the Stochastic Master Equation that describes
the system's conditional evolution when the cavity output is continuously
observed via homodyne detection, but atomic spontaneous emission is not
monitored at all. We find that quantum jumps of the atomic state are induced by
its dynamical coupling to the optical field, in order retroactively to justify
atypical fluctuations in ocurring in the homodyne photocurrent.Comment: 4 pages, uses RevTex, 5 EPS figure
Dynamical Cooling of Trapped Gases I: One Atom Problem
We study the laser cooling of one atom in an harmonic trap beyond the
Lamb-Dicke regime. By using sequences of laser pulses of different detunings we
show that the atom can be confined into just one state of the trap, either the
ground state or an excited state of the harmonic potential. The last can be
achieved because under certain conditions an excited state becomes a dark
state. We study the problem in one and two dimensions. For the latter case a
new cooling mechanism is possible, based on the destructive interference
between the effects of laser fields in different directions, which allows the
creation of variety of dark states. For both, one and two dimensional cases,
Monte Carlo simulations of the cooling dynamics are presented.Comment: LaTeX file with 8 pages, 7 eps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Generation and evolution of vortex-antivortex pairs in Bose-Einstein condensates
We propose a method for generating and controlling a spatially separated
vortex--antivortex pair in a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a toroidal
potential. Our simulations of the time dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation show
that in toroidal condensates vortex dynamics are different from the dynamics in
the homogeneous case. Our numerical results agree well with analytical
calculations using the image method. Our proposal offers an effective example
of coherent generation and control of vortex dynamics in atomic condensates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Cat States and Single Runs for the Damped Harmonic Oscillator
We discuss the fate of initial states of the cat type for the damped harmonic
oscillator, mostly employing a linear version of the stochastic Schr\"odinger
equation. We also comment on how such cat states might be prepared and on the
relation of single realizations of the noise to single runs of experiments.Comment: 18, Revte
Topological phases and circulating states of Bose-Einstein condensates
We show that the quantum topological effect predicted by Aharonov and Casher
(AC effect) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 319 (1984)] may be used to create circulating
states of magnetically trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). A simple
experimental setup is suggested based on a multiply connected geometry such as
a toroidal trap or a magnetic trap pinched by a blue-detuned laser. We give
numerical estimates of such effects within the current atomic BEC experiments,
and point out some interesting properties of the associated quantized
circulating states.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Phase Control of Nonadiabaticity-induced Quantum Chaos in An Optical Lattice
The qualitative nature (i.e. integrable vs. chaotic) of the translational
dynamics of a three-level atom in an optical lattice is shown to be
controllable by varying the relative laser phase of two standing wave lasers.
Control is explained in terms of the nonadiabatic transition between optical
potentials and the corresponding regular to chaotic transition in mixed
classical-quantum dynamics. The results are of interest to both areas of
coherent control and quantum chaos.Comment: 3 figures, 4 pages, to appear in Physical Review Letter
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