Quantitative study of quasi-one-dimensional Bose gas experiments via the stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii equation

The stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii equation is shown to be an excellent model for quasi-one-dimensional Bose gas experiments, accurately reproducing the in situ density profiles recently obtained in the experiments of Trebbia et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 250403 (2006)] and van Amerongen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 090402 (2008)], and the density fluctuation data reported by Armijo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 230402 (2010)]. To facilitate such agreement, we propose and implement a quasi-one-dimensional stochastic equation for the low-energy, axial modes, while atoms in excited transverse modes are treated as independent ideal Bose gases.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; updated figures with experimental dat

Isotopic difference in the heteronuclear loss rate in a two-species surface trap

We have realized a two-species mirror-magneto-optical trap containing a mixture of $^{87}$Rb ($^{85}$Rb) and $^{133}$Cs atoms. Using this trap, we have measured the heteronuclear collisional loss rate $\beta_{Rb-Cs}'$ due to intra-species cold collisions. We find a distinct difference in the magnitude and intensity dependence of $\beta_{Rb-Cs}'$ for the two isotopes $^{87}$Rb and $^{85}$Rb which we attribute to the different ground-state hyperfine splitting energies of the two isotopes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Measuring the Mermin-Peres magic square using an online quantum computer

We have implemented the six series of three commuting measurement of the Mermin-Peres magic square on an online, five qubit, quantum computer. The magic square tests if the measurements of the system can be described by physical realism (in the EPR sense) and simultaneously are non-contextual. We find that our measurement results violate any realistic and non-contextual model by almost 28 standard deviations. We also find that although the quantum computer we used for the measurements leaves much to be desired in producing accurate and reproducible results, the simplicity, the ease of re-running the measurement programs, and the user friendliness compensates for this fact.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 5 table

Fiber-Cavity-Based Optomechanical Device

We describe an optomechanical device consisting of a fiber-based optical cavity containing a silicon nitiride membrane. In comparison with typical free-space cavities, the fiber-cavity's small mode size (10 {\mu}m waist, 80 {\mu}m length) allows the use of smaller, lighter membranes and increases the cavity-membrane linear coupling to 3 GHz/nm and quadratic coupling to 20 GHz/nm^2. This device is also intrinsically fiber-coupled and uses glass ferrules for passive alignment. These improvements will greatly simplify the use of optomechanical systems, particularly in cryogenic settings. At room temperature, we expect these devices to be able to detect the shot noise of radiation pressure.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; the following article has been submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Spin self-rephasing and very long coherence times in a trapped atomic ensemble

We perform Ramsey spectroscopy on the ground state of ultra-cold 87Rb atoms magnetically trapped on a chip in the Knudsen regime. Field inhomogeneities over the sample should limit the 1/e contrast decay time to about 3 s, while decay times of 58 s are actually observed. We explain this surprising result by a spin self-rephasing mechanism induced by the identical spin rotation effect originating from particle indistinguishability. We propose a theory of this synchronization mechanism and obtain good agreement with the experimental observations. The effect is general and susceptible to appear in other physical systems.Comment: Revised version; improved description of the theoretical treatmen

Quantum Scattering in Quasi-1D Cylindrical Confinement

Finite size effects alter not only the energy levels of small systems, but can also lead to new effective interactions within these systems. Here the problem of low energy quantum scattering by a spherically symmetric short range potential in the presence of a general cylindrical confinement is investigated. A Green's function formalism is developed which accounts for the full 3D nature of the scattering potential by incorporating all phase-shifts and their couplings. This quasi-1D geometry gives rise to scattering resonances and weakly localized states, whose binding energies and wavefunctions can be systematically calculated. Possible applications include e.g. impurity scattering in ballistic quasi-1D quantum wires in mesoscopic systems and in atomic matter wave guides. In the particular case of parabolic confinement, the present formalism can also be applied to pair collision processes such as two-body interactions. Weakly bound pairs and quasi-molecules induced by the confinement and having zero or higher orbital angular momentum can be predicted, such as p- and d-wave pairings.Comment: Extended version of quant-ph/050319