arXiv:1006.2042 · Physical Review A

Role of interactions in time-of-flight expansion of atomic clouds from optical lattices

Joern N. Kupferschmidt, Erich J. Mueller

Published Aug 30, 2010• 9 citations

Abstract

We calculate the effect of interactions on the expansion of ultracold atoms from a single site of an optical lattice. We use these results to predict how interactions influence the interference pattern observed in a time-of-flight experiment. We find that for typical interaction strengths their influence is negligible, yet that they reduce visibility near a scattering resonance.

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.82.023618

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