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arXiv:1205.6560 · Physical Review A

Role of Mie scattering in the seeding of matter-wave superradiance

Romain Bachelard, H. Bender, Ph. W. Courteille, N. Piovella, Christian Stehle, Claus Zimmermann, Sebastian Slama

Published Oct 5, 2012• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Matter-wave superradiance is based on the interplay between ultracold atoms coherently organized in momentum space and a backscattered wave. Here, we show that this mechanism may be triggered by Mie scattering from the atomic cloud. We show how the laser light populates the modes of the cloud and thus imprints a phase gradient on the excited atomic dipoles. The interference with the atoms in the ground state results in a grating that in turn generates coherent emission, contributing to the backward light wave onset. The atomic recoil ``halos'' created by the Mie-scattered light exhibit a strong anisotropy, in contrast to single-atom scattering.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.86.043605

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Matter-wave superradiance is based on the interplay between ultracold atoms coherently organized in momentum space and a backscattered wave. Here, we show that this mechanism may be triggered by Mie scattering from the atomic cloud. We show how the laser light populates the modes of the cloud and thus imprints a phase gradient on the excited atomic dipoles. The interference with the atoms in the ground state results in a grating that in turn generates coherent emission, contributing to the backward light wave onset. The atomic recoil ``halos'' created by the Mie-scattered light exhibit a strong anisotropy, in contrast to single-atom scattering.
Superradiance scattering from a Bose-Einstein condensate is studied with a two-frequency pumping beam. We demonstrate the possibility of fully tuning the backward mode population as a function of the locked initial relative phase between the two frequency components of the pumping beam. This result comes from an imprinting of this initial relative phase on two matter wave gratings, formed by the forward mode or backward mode condensate plus the condensate at rest so cooperative scattering is affected. A numerical simulation using a semiclassical model agrees with our observations.
Summary form only given. Bose-Einstein condensed atomic gases are a new class of quantum fluids with many novel properties. We have studied collective modes and dissipation by perturbing the condensate with focused laser beams. The scattering of photons imparts momentum to the condensate and creates excitations. Consequently, the coherence and collective behavior of the condensate can strongly affect optical properties. We used light scattering to demonstrate that the coherence length of a condensate is equal to its physical size, and obtained dramatic evidence for the presence of correlated momentum excitations in the many-body condensate wavefunction. At higher laser intensity, a new form of superradiance was found which provided a gain mechanism for the generation of directed beams of atoms and light. This process amplified matter waves in a phase coherent way.
A superfluid atomic gas is prepared inside an optical resonator with an ultranarrow bandwidth on the order of the single photon recoil energy. When a monochromatic off-resonant laser beam irradiates the atoms, above a critical intensity the cavity emits superradiant light pulses with a duration on the order of its photon storage time. The atoms are collectively scattered into coherent superpositions of discrete momentum states, which can be precisely controlled by adjusting the cavity resonance frequency. With appropriate pulse sequences the entire atomic sample can be collectively accelerated or decelerated by multiples of two recoil momenta. The instability boundary for the onset of matter wave superradiance is recorded and its main features are explained by a mean field model.
Scattering of light at a distribution of scatterers is an intrinsically cooperative process, which means that the scattering rate and the angular distribution of the scattered light are essentially governed by bulk properties of the distribution, such as its size, shape, and density, although local disorder and density fluctuations may have an important impact on the cooperativity. Via measurements of the radiation pressure force exerted by a far-detuned laser beam on a very small and dense cloud of ultracold atoms, we are able to identify the respective roles of superradiant acceleration of the scattering rate and of Mie scattering in the cooperative process. They lead, respectively, to a suppression or an enhancement of the radiation pressure force. We observe a maximum in the radiation pressure force as a function of the phase shift induced in the incident laser beam by the cloud's refractive index. The maximum marks the borderline of the validity of the Rayleigh-Debye-Gans approximation from a regime, where Mie scattering is more complex. Our observations thus help to clarify the intricate relationship between Rayleigh scattering of light at a coarse-grained ensemble of individual scatterers and Mie scattering at the bulk density distribution.
The interaction of short and strong laser pulses with an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate is found to generate patterns of recoiling atoms that are different from those seen in previous light-scattering experiments. This phenomenon can only be explained by optical stimulation, showing that the previous description of superradiance as atomic stimulation is incomplete and that matter-wave amplification in Bose-Einstein condensates is suppressed at short times. Our experiments clarify the nature of bosonic stimulation in the four-wave mixing of light and atoms.
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.