Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Theory of single-shot phase contrast imaging in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates
Ebubechukwu O Ilo-Okeke1, Tim Byrnes2
1National Institute of Informatics, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8430, Japan and Department of Physics, School of Science, Federal University of Technology, P. M. B. 1526, Owerri, Imo State 460001, Nigeria.
Abstract:
We introduce a theoretical framework for single-shot phase contrast imaging (PCI) measurements of spinor Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). Our model allows for the simple calculation of the quantum backaction resulting from the measurement, and the amount of information that is read out. We find that there is an optimum time Gτ ∼ 1/N for the light-matter interaction (G is the ac Stark shift frequency, N is the number of particles in the BEC), where the maximum amount of information can be read out from the BEC. A universal information-disturbance tradeoff law ε(F)ε(G) ∝ 1/N(2) is found where ε(F) is the amount of backaction and ε(G) is the estimation error. The PCI measurement can also be found to be a direct probe of the quantum fluctuations of the BEC, via the noise of the PCI signal.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...
NMR Spectroscopy: Spin–Spin Coupling
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
The Pauli Exclusion Principle

