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Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
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Steering Bose-Einstein condensates despite time symmetry.

Dario Poletti1, Giuliano Benenti, Giulio Casati

  • 1Department of Physics and Centre for Computational Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542, Republic of Singapore.

Physical Review Letters
|April 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary

A Bose-Einstein condensate in an asymmetric potential can flow in one direction without external bias. This directed current emerges only when atom interactions are strong enough, as confirmed by a three-mode model and many-body simulations.

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Area of Science:

  • Quantum physics
  • Atomic physics
  • Condensed matter physics

Background:

  • Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are quantum states of matter.
  • Time-symmetric systems typically do not exhibit directed motion without bias.
  • Understanding emergent phenomena in BECs is crucial for quantum technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the emergence of directed current in a BEC.
  • To identify the conditions under which spontaneous directed motion occurs.
  • To validate theoretical models against many-body simulations.

Main Methods:

  • Simulating a Bose-Einstein condensate in an oscillating, spatially asymmetric potential.
  • Employing mean-field approximation to model interatomic interactions.
  • Utilizing a three-mode model for theoretical description.
  • Comparing model predictions with many-body quantum simulations.

Main Results:

  • A directed current was observed in the BEC for unbiased initial conditions.
  • This directed flow only occurs when the interatomic interaction strength exceeds a critical value.
  • The three-mode model accurately describes the phenomenon over a time scale dependent on atom number.
  • The time scale of validity for the mean-field approximation was probed.

Conclusions:

  • Spontaneous directed motion is possible in time-symmetric BECs under specific conditions.
  • Interatomic interactions play a critical role in driving emergent currents.
  • The three-mode model provides a reliable, albeit limited, description of BEC dynamics.