109 research outputs found
Creation and counting of defects in a temperature quenched Bose-Einstein Condensate
We study the spontaneous formation of defects in the order parameter of a
trapped ultracold bosonic gas while crossing the critical temperature for
Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) at different rates. The system has the shape
of an elongated ellipsoid, whose transverse width can be varied to explore
dimensionality effects. For slow enough temperature quenches we find a
power-law scaling of the average defect number with the quench rate, as
predicted by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. A breakdown of such a scaling is found
for fast quenches, leading to a saturation of the average defect number. We
suggest an explanation for this saturation in terms of the mutual interactions
among defects.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
A compact high-flux source of cold sodium atoms
We present a compact source of cold sodium atoms suitable for the production
of quantum degenerate gases and versatile for a multi-species experiment. The
magnetic field produced by permanent magnets allows to simultaneously realize a
Zeeman slower and a two-dimensional MOT within an order of magnitude smaller
length than standard sodium sources. We achieve an atomic flux exceeding 4x10^9
atoms/s loaded in a MOT, with a most probable longitudinal velocity of 20 m/s,
and a brightness larger than 2.5x10^(12) atoms/s/sr. This atomic source allowed
us to produce a pure BEC with more than 10^7 atoms and a background pressure
limited lifetime of 5 minutes.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Determination of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant Using Atom Interferometry
We present a new measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G based
on cold atom interferometry. Freely falling samples of laser-cooled rubidium
atoms are used in a gravity gradiometer to probe the field generated by nearby
source masses. In addition to its potential sensitivity, this method is
intriguing as gravity is explored by a quantum system. We report a value of
G=6.667 10^{-11} m^{3} kg^{-1} s^{-2}, estimating a statistical uncertainty of
0.011 10^{-11} m^{3} kg^{-1} s^{-2} and a systematic uncertainty of
0.003 10^{-11} m^{3} kg^{-1} s^{-2}. The long-term stability of the instrument
and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting perspectives
for pushing the measurement accuracy below the 100 ppm level.Comment: 4 figure
Observation of Solitonic Vortices in Bose-Einstein Condensates
We observe solitonic vortices in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate after
free expansion. Clear signatures of the nature of such defects are the twisted
planar density depletion around the vortex line, observed in absorption images,
and the double dislocation in the interference pattern obtained through
homodyne techniques. Both methods allow us to determine the sign of the
quantized circulation. Experimental observations agree with numerical
simulations. These solitonic vortices are the decay product of phase defects of
the BEC order parameter spontaneously created after a rapid quench across the
BEC transition in a cigar-shaped harmonic trap and are shown to have a very
long lifetime.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Solitonic Vortices in Bose-Einstein Condensates
We analyse, theoretically and experimentally, the nature of solitonic
vortices (SV) in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate. In the experiment, such
defects are created via the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, when the temperature of a
gas of sodium atoms is quenched across the BEC transition, and are imaged after
a free expansion of the condensate. By using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we
calculate the in-trap density and phase distributions characterizing a SV in
the crossover from an elongate quasi-1D to a bulk 3D regime. The simulations
show that the free expansion strongly amplifies the key features of a SV and
produces a remarkable twist of the solitonic plane due to the quantized
vorticity associated with the defect. Good agreement is found between
simulations and experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Mass-driven vortex collisions in flat superfluids
Quantum vortices are often endowed with an effective inertial mass, due, for example, to massive particles in their cores. Such “massive vortices” display new phenomena beyond the standard picture of superfluid vortex dynamics, where mass is neglected. In this work, we demonstrate that massive vortices are allowed to collide, as opposed to their massless counterparts. We propose a scheme to generate controllable, repeatable, deterministic collisional events in pairs of quantum vortices. We demonstrate two mass-driven fundamental processes: (i) the annihilation of two counter-rotating vortices and (ii) the merging of two corotating vortices, thus pointing out new mechanisms supporting incompressible-to-compressible kinetic-energy conversion, as well as doubly quantized vortex stabilization in flat superfluids
Dynamical Equilibration Across a Quenched Phase Transition in a Trapped Quantum Gas
The formation of an equilibrium quantum state from an uncorrelated thermal
one through the dynamical crossing of a phase transition is a central question
of non-equilibrium many-body physics. During such crossing, the system breaks
its symmetry by establishing numerous uncorrelated regions separated by
spontaneously-generated defects, whose emergence obeys a universal scaling law
with the quench duration. Much less is known about the ensuing re-equilibrating
or "coarse-graining" stage, which is governed by the evolution and interactions
of such defects under system-specific and external constraints. In this work we
perform a detailed numerical characterization of the entire non-equilibrium
process, addressing subtle issues in condensate growth dynamics and
demonstrating the quench-induced decoupling of number and coherence growth
during the re-equilibration process. Our unique visualizations not only
reproduce experimental measurements in the relevant regimes, but also provide
valuable information in currently experimentally-inaccessible regimes.Comment: Supplementary Movie Previes: SM-Movie-1: https://youtu.be/3q7-CvuBylg
SM-Movie-2: https://youtu.be/-Gymaiv9rC0 SM-Movie-3:
https://youtu.be/w-O2SPiw3nE SM-Movie-4: https://youtu.be/P4xGyr4dwK
Dynamics and interaction of vortex lines in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate
We study the real-time dynamics of vortex lines in a large elongated
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of sodium atoms using a stroboscopic technique.
Vortices are spontaneously produced via the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a quench
across the BEC transition and then they slowly precess keeping their
orientation perpendicular to the long axis of the trap as expected for
solitonic vortices in a highly anisotropic condensate. Good agreement with
theoretical predictions is found for the precession period as a function of the
orbit amplitude and the number of condensed atoms. In configurations with two
or more vortex lines, we see signatures of vortex-vortex interaction in the
shape and visibility of the orbits. In addition, when more than two vortices
are present, their decay is faster than the thermal decay observed for one or
two vortices. The possible role of vortex reconnection processes is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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