We observe large density modulations in time-of-flight images of elongated
Bose-Einstein condensates, initially confined in a harmonic trap and in the
presence of weak disorder. The development of these modulations during the
time-of-flight and their dependence with the disorder are investigated. We
render an account of this effect using numerical and analytical calculations.
We conclude that the observed large density modulations originate from the weak
initial density modulations induced by the disorder, and not from initial phase
fluctuations (thermal or quantum).Comment: Published version; 4+ pages; 4 figure