71 research outputs found
Comparing contact and dipolar interaction in a Bose-Einstein condensate
We have measured the relative strength of the magnetic
dipole-dipole interaction compared to the contact interaction in a chromium
Bose-Einstein condensate. We analyze the asymptotic velocities of expansion of
a dipolar chromium BEC with different orientations of the atomic magnetic
dipole moments. By comparing them with numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic
equations for dipolar condensates, we are able to determine with high accuracy. Since the absolute strength of the
dipole-dipole interaction is known exactly, the relative strength of the
dipoledipole interaction can be used to determine the s-wave scattering length
of 52Cr. This is fully consistent
with our previous measurements on the basis of Feshbach resonances
Expansion dynamics of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate
Our recent measurements on the expansion of a chromium dipolar condensate
after release from an optical trapping potential are in good agreement with an
exact solution of the hydrodynamic equations for dipolar Bose gases. We report
here the theoretical method used to interpret the measurement data as well as
more details of the experiment and its analysis. The theory reported here is a
tool for the investigation of different dynamical situations in time-dependent
harmonic traps.Comment: 12 pages. Submitted to PR
Observation of dipole-dipole interaction in a degenerate quantum gas
We have investigated the expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of
strongly magnetic chromium atoms. The long-range and anisotropic magnetic
dipole-dipole interaction leads to an anisotropic deformation of the expanding
Cr-BEC which depends on the orientation of the atomic dipole moments. Our
measurements are consistent with the theory of dipolar quantum gases and show
that a Cr-BEC is an excellent model system to study dipolar interactions in
such gases.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
A two-frequency acousto-optic modulator driver to improve the beam pointing stability during intensity ramps
We report on a scheme to improve the pointing stability of the first order beam diffracted by an acousto-optic modulator (AOM). Due to thermal effects inside the crystal, the angular position of the beam can change by as much as 1 mrad when the radio-frequency power in the AOM is reduced to decrease the first order beam intensity. This is done for example to perform forced evaporative cooling in ultracold atom experiments using far-off-resonant optical traps. We solve this problem by driving the AOM with two radio-frequencies and . The power of is adjusted relative to the power of to keep the total power constant. Using this, the beam displacement is decreased by a factor of twenty. The method is simple to implement in existing experimental setups, without any modification of the optics
d-wave collapse and explosion of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate
We investigate the collapse dynamics of a dipolar condensate of 52Cr atoms
when the s-wave scattering length characterizing the contact interaction is
reduced below a critical value. A complex dynamics, involving an anisotropic,
d-wave symmetric explosion of the condensate, is observed. The atom number
decreases abruptly during the collapse. We find good agreement between our
experimental results and those of a numerical simulation of the
three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, including contact and dipolar
interactions as well as three-body losses. The simulation indicates that the
collapse induces the formation of two vortex rings with opposite circulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Damagnetization cooling of a gas
We demonstrate demagnetization cooling of a gas of ultracold Cr atoms.
Demagnetization is driven by inelastic dipolar collisions which couple the
motional degrees of freedom to the spin degree. By that kinetic energy is
converted into magnetic work with a consequent temperature reduction of the
gas. Optical pumping is used to magnetize the system and drive continuous
demagnetization cooling. Applying this technique, we can increase the phase
space density of our sample by one order of magnitude, with nearly no atom
loss. This method can be in principle extended to every dipolar system and
could be used to achieve quantum degeneracy via optical means.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Strong dipolar effects in a quantum ferrofluid
We report on the realization of a Chromium Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)
with strong dipolar interaction. By using a Feshbach resonance, we reduce the
usual isotropic contact interaction, such that the anisotropic magnetic
dipole-dipole interaction between 52Cr atoms becomes comparable in strength.
This induces a change of the aspect ratio of the cloud, and, for strong dipolar
interaction, the inversion of ellipticity during expansion - the usual "smoking
gun" evidence for BEC - can even be suppressed. These effects are accounted for
by taking into account the dipolar interaction in the superfluid hydrodynamic
equations governing the dynamics of the gas, in the same way as classical
ferrofluids can be described by including dipolar terms in the classical
hydrodynamic equations. Our results are a first step in the exploration of the
unique properties of quantum ferrofluids.Comment: Final, published versio
The physics of dipolar bosonic quantum gases
This article reviews the recent theoretical and experimental advances in the
study of ultracold gases made of bosonic particles interacting via the
long-range, anisotropic dipole-dipole interaction, in addition to the
short-range and isotropic contact interaction usually at work in ultracold
gases. The specific properties emerging from the dipolar interaction are
emphasized, from the mean-field regime valid for dilute Bose-Einstein
condensates, to the strongly correlated regimes reached for dipolar bosons in
optical lattices.Comment: Review article, 71 pages, 35 figures, 350 references. Submitted to
Reports on Progress in Physic
Formation and interactions of cold and ultracold molecules: new challenges for interdisciplinary physics
Progress on researches in the field of molecules at cold and ultracold
temperatures is reported in this review. It covers extensively the experimental
methods to produce, detect and characterize cold and ultracold molecules
including association of ultracold atoms, deceleration by external fields and
kinematic cooling. Confinement of molecules in different kinds of traps is also
discussed. The basic theoretical issues related to the knowledge of the
molecular structure, the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule mutual
interactions, and to their possible manipulation and control with external
fields, are reviewed. A short discussion on the broad area of applications
completes the review.Comment: to appear in Reports on Progress in Physic
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