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Effect of light assisted collisions on matter wave coherence in superradiant Bose-Einstein condensates
N S Kampel1, A Griesmaier, M P Hornbak Steenstrup
1Niels Bohr Institute, Danish Quantum Optics Center QUANTOP, Copenhagen University, Denmark. nir.kampel@nbi.dk
Abstract:
We investigate experimentally the effects of light assisted collisions on the coherence between momentum states in Bose-Einstein condensates. The onset of superradiant Rayleigh scattering serves as a sensitive monitor for matter-wave coherence. A subtle interplay of binary and collective effects leads to a profound asymmetry between the two sides of the atomic resonance and provides far bigger coherence loss rates for a condensate bathed in blue detuned light than previously estimated. We present a simplified quantitative model containing the essential physics to explain our experimental data and point at a new experimental route to study strongly coupled light matter systems.
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