Evaluating the phase diagram of superconductors with asymmetric spin populations

The phase diagram of a non-relativistic fermionic system with imbalanced state populations interacting via a short-range S-wave attractive interaction is analyzed in the mean field approximation. We determine the energetically favored state for different values of the mismatch between the two Fermi spheres in the weak and strong coupling regime considering both homogeneous and non-homogeneous superconductive states. We find that the homogeneous superconductive phase persists for values of the population imbalance that increase with increasing coupling strength. In the strong coupling regime and for large population differences the energetically stable homogeneous phase is characterized by one gapless mode. We also find that the inhomogeneous superconductive phase characterized by the condensate $\Delta({\bf x}) \sim \Delta~\exp{(i \bf{q \cdot x})}$ is energetically favored in a range of values of the chemical potential mismatch that shrinks to zero in the strong coupling regime.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Condensate fraction of cold gases in non-uniform external potential

Exact calculation of the condensate fraction in multi-dimensional inhomogeneous interacting Bose systems which do not possess continuous symmetries is a difficult computational problem. We have developed an iterative procedure which allows to calculate the condensate fraction as well as the corresponding eigenfunction of the one-body density matrix. We successfully validate this procedure in diffusion Monte Carlo simulations of a Bose gas in an optical lattice at zero temperature. We also discuss relation between different criteria used for testing coherence in cold Bose systems, such as fraction of particles that are superfluid, condensed or are in the zero-momentum state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Manipulation of ultracold atoms in dressed adiabatic radio frequency potentials

We explore properties of atoms whose magnetic hyperfine sub-levels are coupled by an external magnetic radio frequency (rf) field. We perform a thorough theoretical analysis of this driven system and present a number of systematic approximations which eventually give rise to dressed adiabatic radio frequency potentials. The predictions of this analytical investigation are compared to numerically exact results obtained by a wave packet propagation. We outline the versatility and flexibility of this new class of potentials and demonstrate their potential use to build atom optical elements such as double-wells, interferometers and ringtraps. Moreover, we perform simulations of interference experiments carried out in rf induced double-well potentials. We discuss how the nature of the atom-field coupling mechanism gives rise to a decrease of the interference contrast

Self-consistent fragmented excited states of trapped condensates

Self-consistent excited states of condensates are solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation and have been amply discussed in the literature and related to experiments. By introducing a more general mean-field which includes the GP one as a special case, we find a new class of self-consistent excited states. In these states macroscopic numbers of bosons reside in different one-particle functions, i.e., the states are fragmented. Still, a single chemical potential is associated with the condensate. A numerical example is presented, illustrating that the energies of the new, fragmented, states are much lower than those of the GP excited states, and that they are stable to variations of the particle number and shape of the trap potential.Comment: (11 pages 2 figures, submitted to PRL

Phase-sensitive detection of Bragg scattering at 1D optical lattices

We report on the observation of Bragg scattering at 1D atomic lattices. Cold atoms are confined by optical dipole forces at the antinodes of a standing wave generated by the two counter-propagating modes of a laser-driven high-finesse ring cavity. By heterodyning the Bragg-scattered light with a reference beam, we obtain detailed information on phase shifts imparted by the Bragg scattering process. Being deep in the Lamb-Dicke regime, the scattered light is not broadened by the motion of individual atoms. In contrast, we have detected signatures of global translatory motion of the atomic grating.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Thermodynamical Properties of a Rotating Ideal Bose Gas

In a recent experiment, a Bose-Einstein condensate was trapped in an anharmonic potential which is well approximated by a harmonic and a quartic part. The condensate was set into such a fast rotation that the centrifugal force in the corotating frame overcompensates the harmonic part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. Thus, the resulting trap potential became Mexican-hat shaped. We present an analysis for an ideal Bose gas which is confined in such an anharmonic rotating trap within a semiclassical approximation where we calculate the critical temperature, the condensate fraction, and the heat capacity. In particular, we examine in detail how these thermodynamical quantities depend on the rotation frequency.Comment: Author Information under http://www.theo-phys.uni-essen.de/tp/ags/pelster_dir

Evolutional Entanglement in Nonequilibrium Processes

Entanglement in nonequilibrium systems is considered. A general definition for entanglement measure is introduced, which can be applied for characterizing the level of entanglement produced by arbitrary operators. Applying this definition to reduced density matrices makes it possible to measure the entanglement in nonequilibrium as well as in equilibrium statistical systems. An example of a multimode Bose-Einstein condensate is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, Late

Superfluid drag of two-species Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices

We study two-species Bose-Einstein condensates in quasi two-dimensional optical lattices of varying geometry and potential depth. Based on the numerically exact Bloch and Wannier functions obtained using the plane-wave expansion method, we quantify the drag (entrainment coupling) between the condensate components. This drag originates from the (short range) inter-species interaction and increases with the kinetic energy. As a result of the interplay between interaction and kinetic energy effects, the superfluid-drag coefficient shows a non-monotonic dependence on the lattice depth. To make contact with future experiments, we quantitatively investigate the drag for mass ratios corresponding to relevant atomic species.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted in its original form but minor changes have been don

Injection locking of a low cost high power laser diode at 461 nm

Stable laser sources at 461 nm are important for optical cooling of strontium atoms. In most existing experiments this wavelength is obtained by frequency doubling infrared lasers, since blue laser diodes either have low power or large emission bandwidths. Here, we show that injecting less than 10 mW of monomode laser radiation into a blue multimode 500 mW high power laser diode is capable of slaving at least 50% of the power to the desired frequency. We verify the emission bandwidth reduction by saturation spectroscopy on a strontium gas cell and by direct beating of the slave with the master laser. We also demonstrate that the laser can efficiently be used within the Zeeman slower for optical cooling of a strontium atomic beam.Comment: 2nd corrected version (minor revisions); Manuscript accepted for publication in Review of Scientific Instruments; 5 pages, 6 figure