Tkachenko modes of vortex lattices in rapidly rotating bose-einstein condensates

We calculate the in-plane modes of the vortex lattice in a rotating Bose condensate, from the slowly rotating to mean-field quantum Hall limits. The Tkachenko mode frequency, linear in wave vector k for lattice rotational velocities Omega much smaller than the lowest sound wave frequency in a finite system, becomes quadratic in k in the opposite limit. The system also supports an inertial mode of frequency >or=2omega. The calculated frequencies are in excellent agreement with recent observations of Tkachenko modes by Phys. Rev. Lett., 91, 100402 (2003)].     

Unconventional strongly interacting bose-einstein condensates in optical lattices

Feschbach resonances in a non-s-wave channel of two-component bosonic mixtures can induce atomic Bose-Einstein condensates with a nonzero orbital momentum in the optical lattice, if one component is in the Mott insulator state and the other is not. Such non-s-wave condensates break the symmetry of the lattice and, in some cases, time-reversal symmetry. They can be revealed in specific absorption imaging patterns.     

Thermal fluctuations of vortex matter in trapped bose-einstein condensates

We perform Monte Carlo studies of vortices in three dimensions in a cylindrical confinement, with uniform and nonuniform density. The former is relevant to rotating 4He; the latter is relevant to a rotating trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. In the former case, we find dominant angular thermal vortex fluctuations close to the cylinder wall. For the latter case, a novel effect is that at low temperatures the vortex solid close to the center of the trap crosses directly over to a tensionless vortex tangle near the edge of the trap. At higher temperatures an intermediate tensionful vortex liquid located between the vortex solid and the vortex tangle may exist.     

Giant vortex lattice deformations in rapidly rotating bose-einstein condensates

We have performed numerical simulations of giant vortex structures in rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates within the Gross-Pitaevskii formalism. We reproduce the qualitative features, such as oscillation of the giant vortex core area, formation of toroidal density hole, and the precession of giant vortices, observed in the recent experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett., ()]]. We provide a mechanism which quantitatively explains the observed core oscillation phenomenon. We demonstrate the clear distinction between the mechanism of atom removal and a repulsive pinning potential in creating giant vortices. In addition, we have been able to simulate the transverse Tkachenko vortex lattice vibrations.     

Josephson effects in dilute bose-einstein condensates

We propose an experiment that would demonstrate the dc and ac Josephson effects in two weakly linked Bose-Einstein condensates. We consider a time-dependent barrier, moving adiabatically across the trapping potential. The phase dynamics are governed by a "driven-pendulum" equation, as in current-driven superconducting Josephson junctions. At a critical velocity of the barrier (proportional to the critical tunneling current), there is a sharp transition between the dc and ac regimes. The signature is a sudden jump of a large fraction of the relative condensate population. Analytical results are compared with a numerical integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, in an experimentally realistic situation.     

Nonlinear effects in interference of bose-einstein condensates

Nonlinear effects in the interference of Bose-Einstein condensates are studied using exact solutions of the one-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation, which is applicable when the lateral motion is confined or negligible. With the inverse scattering method, the interference pattern is studied as a scattering problem with the linear Schrodinger equation, whose potential is profiled by the initial density distribution of the condensates. Our theory not only provides an analytical framework for quantitative predictions for the one-dimensional case, it also gives an intuitive understanding of some mysterious features of the interference patterns observed in experiments and numerical simulations.     

Collective oscillations of vortex lattices in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

The complete low-energy collective-excitation spectrum of vortex lattices is discussed for rotating Bose-Einstein condensates by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, yielding, e.g., the Tkachenko mode recently observed at JILA. The totally symmetric subset of these modes includes the transverse shear, common longitudinal, and differential longitudinal modes. We also solve the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation to simulate the actual JILA experiment, obtaining the Tkachenko mode and identifying a pair of breathing modes. Combining both approaches allows one to unambiguously identify every observed mode.     

玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体中的超流现象

在玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚(BEC)的超流现象的研究中,人们通常采用平均场近似下求解Gross-Pitaevskii方程的方法,我们采用更严格的准确对角化的方法对弱排斥相互作用下两维旋转N-Boson体系的凝聚状态进行了研究.研究表明,弱相互作用下的基态并不是人们通常认为的单一凝聚态,而是一个碎裂凝聚态.通过碎裂态能谱与平均场方法给出的能谱之间的比较以及条件几率分布函数的计算,我们指出这种碎裂凝聚态有着内在的不稳定性,很容易破缺到一个单一凝聚状态;计算给出的条件几率分布可以用来揭示破缺后的状态,其分布图案与平均场近似下所得到的涡旋图形相类似.我们进一步注意到过去研究工作主要集中在弱相互作用极限下和强相互作用Thomas-Fermi近似极限下这两种极端情况.为考察两种极限间的中间过渡区域,我们研究了中等相互作用强度下体系的基态性质.     

Effect of quantum fluctuations on the dipolar motion of bose-einstein condensates in optical lattices

We reexamine dipolar motion of condensate atoms in one-dimensional optical lattices and harmonic magnetic traps including quantum fluctuations within the truncated Wigner approximation. In the strong tunneling limit we reproduce the mean field results with a sharp dynamical transition at the critical displacement. When the tunneling is reduced, on the contrary, strong quantum fluctuations lead to finite damping of condensate oscillations even at infinitesimal displacement. We argue that there is a smooth crossover between the chaotic classical transition at finite displacement and the superfluid-to-insulator phase transition at zero displacement. We further analyze the time dependence of the density fluctuations and of the coherence of the condensate and find several nontrivial dynamical effects, which can be observed in the present experimental conditions.     

Anisotropic solitons in dipolar bose-einstein condensates

Starting with a Gaussian variational ansatz, we predict anisotropic bright solitons in quasi-2D Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of atoms with dipole moments polarized perpendicular to the confinement direction. Unlike isotropic solitons predicted for the moments aligned with the confinement axis [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 200404 (2005)10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.200404], no sign reversal of the dipole-dipole interaction is necessary to support the solitons. Direct 3D simulations confirm their stability.     

Fidelity decay in trapped bose-einstein condensates

The quantum coherence of a Bose-Einstein condensate is studied using the concept of quantum fidelity (Loschmidt echo). The condensate is confined in an elongated anharmonic trap and subjected to a small random potential such as that created by a laser speckle. Numerical experiments show that the quantum fidelity stays constant until a critical time, after which it drops abruptly over a single trap oscillation period. The critical time depends logarithmically on the number of condensed atoms and on the perturbation amplitude. This behavior may be observable by measuring the interference fringes of two condensates evolving in slightly different potentials.     

Photonic band gap via quantum coherence in vortex lattices of Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate the optical response of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate with a vortex lattice. We find that it is possible for the vortex lattice to act as a photonic crystal and create photonic band gaps, by enhancing the refractive index of the condensate via a quantum coherent scheme. If high enough index contrast between the vortex core and the atomic sample is achieved, a photonic band gap arises depending on the healing length and the lattice spacing. A wide range of experimentally accessible parameters are examined and band gaps in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum are found. We also show how directional band gaps can be used to directly measure the rotation frequency of the condensate.     

Formation and decay of vortex lattices in Bose-Einstein condensates at finite temperatures

The dynamics of vortex lattices in stirred Bose-Einstein condensates have been studied at finite temperatures. The decay of the vortex lattice was observed nondestructively by monitoring the centrifugal distortions of the rotating condensate. The formation of the vortex lattice could be deduced from the increasing contrast of the vortex cores observed in ballistic expansion. In contrast to the decay, the formation of the vortex lattice is insensitive to temperature change.     

Two-body transients in coupled atomic-molecular bose-einstein condensates

We discuss the dynamics of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate when pairs of atoms are converted into molecules by single-color photoassociation. Three main regimes are found, and it is shown that they can be understood on the basis of time-dependent two-body theory. In particular, the so-called rogue dissociation regime [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 090403 (2002)10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.090403], which has a density-dependent limit on the photoassociation rate, is identified with a transient regime of the two-atom dynamics exhibiting universal properties. Finally, we illustrate how these regimes could be explored by photoassociating condensates of alkaline-earth atoms.     

Collective oscillations of two colliding bose-einstein condensates

Two 87Rb condensates ( F = 2, m(f) = 2, and m(f) = 1) are produced in highly displaced harmonic traps and the collective dynamical behavior is investigated. The mutual interaction between the two condensates is evidenced in the center-of-mass oscillations as a frequency shift of 6.4(3)%. Calculations based on a mean-field theory well describe the observed effects of periodical collisions both on the center-of-mass motion and on the shape oscillations.     

Motion of dark solitons in trapped bose-einstein condensates

We use a multiple time scale boundary layer theory to derive the equation of motion for a dark (or grey) soliton propagating through an effectively one-dimensional cloud of Bose-Einstein condensate, assuming only that the background density and velocity vary slowly on the soliton scale. We show that solitons can exhibit viscous or radiative acceleration (antidamping), which we estimate as slow but observable on experimental time scales.     

Distillation of bose-einstein condensates in a double-well potential

Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms, prepared in an optical dipole trap, were distilled into a second empty dipole trap adjacent to the first one. The distillation was driven by thermal atoms spilling over the potential barrier separating the two wells and then forming a new condensate. This process serves as a model system for metastability in condensates, provides a test for quantum kinetic theories of condensate formation, and also represents a novel technique for creating or replenishing condensates in new locations.     

Long-range nature of feshbach molecules in bose-einstein condensates

We discuss the long-range nature of the molecules produced in recent experiments on molecular Bose-Einstein condensation. The properties of these molecules depend on the full two-body Hamiltonian and not just on the states of the system in the absence of interchannel couplings. The very long-range nature of the state is crucial to the efficiency of production in the experiments. Our many-body treatment of the gas accounts for the full binary physics and describes properly how these molecular condensates can be directly probed.     

Stable and unstable vortices in multicomponent bose-einstein condensates

We study the stability and dynamics of vortices in two-species condensates as prepared in the recent JILA experiment [Matthews et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 2498 (1999)]. We find that of the two possible configurations, in which one species has vorticity m = 1 and the other one has m = 0, only one is linearly stable, which agrees with the experimental results. However, it is found that in the unstable case the vortex is not destroyed by the instability, but may be transferred from one species to the other or display complex spatiotemporal dynamics.