Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1210.1466 · Physical Review B

Semiclassical polaron dynamics of impurities in ultracold gases

David Dasenbrook, Andreas Komnik

Published Mar 4, 2013• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a semiclassical treatment of a fermionic impurity coupled to Bogolyubov modes of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In the lowest-order approximation we find a full solution of an initial value problem, which turns out to behave differently in the sub- and supersonic regimes. While in the former case no impurity deceleration is observed, in the latter case non-Markovian dissipation effects kick in, resulting in a slowing down of the fermion. Although this scenario is compatible with the one offered by an elementary field-theoretical picture at weak coupling, the details of the dynamics turn out to be completely different. Fluctuation effects can be taken into account by expanding around the classical path, which leads to a natural cutoff scale for the momentum integrals of the order of the inverse polaron radius. As an application we calculate the drag force which is exerted by the BEC on the impurity moving with constant velocity $v$. Contrary to the perturbative result, according to which the drag force is $\ensuremath{\sim}{v}^{4}$, it turns out to be proportional to $1/{v}^{2}$ in the semiclassical regime.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.87.094301

Related papers

Dynamics of polaron formation in 1D Bose gases in the strong-coupling regime

Martin Will, Michael Fleischhauer

Abstract We discuss the dynamics of the formation of a Bose polaron when an impurity is injected into a weakly interacting one-dimensional Bose condensate. While for small impurity-boson couplings this process can be described within the Froehlich model as generation, emission and binding of Bogoliubov phonons, this is no longer adequate if the coupling becomes strong. To treat this regime we consider a mean-field approach beyond the Froehlich model which accounts for the backaction to the condensate, complemented with Truncated Wigner simulations to include quantum fluctuation. For the stationary polaron we find a periodic energy-momentum relation and non-monotonous relation between impurity velocity and polaron momentum including regions of negative impurity velocity. Studying the polaron formation after turning on the impurity-boson coupling quasi-adiabatically and in a sudden quench, we find a very rich scenario of dynamical regimes. Due to the build-up of an effective mass, the impurity is slowed down even if its initial velocity is below the Landau critical value. For larger initial velocities we find deceleration and even backscattering caused by emission of density waves or grey solitons and subsequent formation of stationary polaron states in different momentum sectors. In order to analyze the effect of quantum fluctuations we consider a trapped condensate to avoid 1D infrared divergencies. Using Truncated Wigner simulations in this case we show under what conditions the influence of quantum fluctuations is small.

arXiv:2304.14490•New Journal of Physics•Aug 1, 2023•9 citations

Non-Markovian polaron dynamics in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate

Aniello Lampo, Christos Charalambous, Miguel Ángel García-March +1 more

We study the dynamics of an impurity embedded in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, i.e., the Bose polaron problem. This problem is treated by recalling open quantum systems techniques: the impurity corresponds to a particle performing quantum Brownian motion, while the excitation modes of the gas play the role of the environment. It is crucial that the model considers a parabolic trapping potential to resemble the experimental conditions. Thus, we detail here how the formal derivation changes due to the gas trap, in comparison to the homogeneous gas. More importantly, we elucidate all aspects in which the gas trap plays a relevant role, with an emphasis on the enhancement of the non-Markovian character of the dynamics. We first find that the presence of a gas trap leads to a new form of the bath-impurity coupling constant and a larger degree in the super-Ohmicity of the spectral density. We then solve the quantum Langevin equation to derive the position and momentum variances of the impurity, where the former is a measurable quantity. For the particular case of an untrapped impurity, the asymptotic behavior of this quantity is found to be motion superdiffusive. When the impurity is trapped, we find position squeezing, casting the system suitable for implementing quantum metrology and sensing protocols. We detail how both superdiffusion and squeezing can be enhanced or inhibited by tuning the Bose-Einstein condensate trap frequency. Compared to the homogeneous gas case, the form of the bath-impurity coupling constant changes, and this is manifested as a different dependence of the system dynamics on the past history. To quantify this, we introduce several techniques to compare the different amount of memory effects arising in the homogeneous and inhomogeneous gas. We find that it is higher in the second case. This analysis paves the way to the study of non-Markovianity in ultracold gases, and the possibility to exploit such a property in the realization of new quantum devices.

arXiv:1803.08946•Physical Review A•Dec 26, 2018•32 citations

Force on a slow moving impurity due to thermal and quantum fluctuations in a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate

David A. Roberts, Andrew G. Sykes

We study the drag force acting on an impurity moving through a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations. We are able to find exact analytical solutions of the partial differential equations to the level of the Bogoliubov approximation. At zero temperature, we find a nonzero force is exerted on the impurity at subcritical velocities, due to the scattering of quantum fluctuations. We make the following explicit assumptions: far from the impurity the system is in a quantum state given by that of a zero (or finite) temperature Bose-Einstein condensate, and the scattering process generates only causally related reflection/transmission. The results raise unanswered questions in the quantum dynamics associated with the formation of persistent currents.

Physical Review Letters•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

Ultra-Dilute Gas of Polarons in a Bose–Einstein Condensate

Luis A. Peña Ardila

We investigate the properties of a dilute gas of impurities embedded in an ultracold gas of bosons that forms a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). This work focuses mainly on the equation of state (EoS) of the impurity gas at zero temperature and the induced interaction between impurities mediated by the host bath. We use perturbative field-theory approaches, such as Hugenholtz–Pines formalism, in the weakly interacting regime. In turn, for strong interactions, we aim at non-perturbative techniques such as quantum–Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. Our findings agree with experimental observations for an ultra dilute gas of impurities, modeled in the framework of the single impurity problem; however, as the density of impurities increases, systematic deviations are displayed with respect to the one-body Bose polaron problem.

Atoms•Mar 2, 2022•9 citations

Radio-frequency spectroscopy of polarons in ultracold Bose gases

Aditya Shashi, Fabian Grusdt, Dmitry A. Abanin +1 more

Recent experimental advances enabled the realization of mobile impurities immersed in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of ultracold atoms. Here, we consider impurities with two or more internal hyperfine states, and study their radio-frequency (rf) absorption spectra, which correspond to transitions between two different hyperfine states. We calculate rf spectra for the case when one of the hyperfine states involved interacts with the BEC, while the other state is noninteracting, by performing a nonperturbative resummation of the probabilities of exciting different numbers of phonon modes. In the presence of interactions, the impurity gets dressed by Bogoliubov excitations of the BEC, and forms a polaron. The rf signal contains a $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function peak centered at the energy of the polaron measured relative to the bare impurity transition frequency with a weight equal to the amount of bare impurity character in the polaron state. The rf spectrum also has a broad incoherent part arising from the background excitations of the BEC, with a characteristic power-law tail that appears as a consequence of the universal physics of contact interactions. We discuss both the direct rf measurement, in which the impurity is initially in an interacting state, and the inverse rf measurement, in which the impurity is initially in a noninteracting state. In the latter case, in order to calculate the rf spectrum, we solve the problem of polaron formation: a mobile impurity is suddenly introduced in a BEC, and dynamically gets dressed by Bogoliubov phonons. Our solution is based on a time-dependent variational ansatz of coherent states of Bogoliubov phonons, which becomes exact when the impurity is localized. Moreover, we show that such an ansatz compares well with a semiclassical estimate of the propagation amplitude of a mobile impurity in the BEC. Our technique can be extended to cases when both initial and final impurity states are interacting with the BEC.

arXiv:1401.0952•Physical Review A•May 16, 2014•123 citations

Drag Force on an Impurity below the Superfluid Critical Velocity in a Quasi-One-Dimensional Bose-Einstein Condensate

Andrew G. Sykes, Matthew J. Davis, David C K Roberts

The existence of frictionless flow below a critical velocity for obstacles moving in a superfluid is well established in the context of the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii theory. We calculate the next order correction due to quantum and thermal fluctuations and find a nonzero force acting on a delta-function impurity moving through a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at all subcritical velocities and at all temperatures. The force occurs due to an imbalance in the Doppler shifts of reflected quantum fluctuations from either side of the impurity. Our calculation is based on a consistent extension of Bogoliubov theory to second order in the interaction strength, and finds new analytical solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a gray soliton. Our results raise questions regarding the quantum dynamics in the formation of persistent currents in superfluids.

arXiv:0904.0995•Physical Review Letters•Aug 18, 2009•51 citations
We present a semiclassical treatment of a fermionic impurity coupled to Bogolyubov modes of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In the lowest-order approximation we find a full solution of an initial value problem, which turns out to behave differently in the sub- and supersonic regimes. While in the former case no impurity deceleration is observed, in the latter case non-Markovian dissipation effects kick in, resulting in a slowing down of the fermion. Although this scenario is compatible with the one offered by an elementary field-theoretical picture at weak coupling, the details of the dynamics turn out to be completely different. Fluctuation effects can be taken into account by expanding around the classical path, which leads to a natural cutoff scale for the momentum integrals of the order of the inverse polaron radius. As an application we calculate the drag force which is exerted by the BEC on the impurity moving with constant velocity vvv. Contrary to the perturbative result, according to which the drag force is \ensuremath∼v4\ensuremath{\sim}{v}^{4}\ensuremath∼v4, it turns out to be proportional to 1/v21/{v}^{2}1/v2 in the semiclassical regime.
Abstract We discuss the dynamics of the formation of a Bose polaron when an impurity is injected into a weakly interacting one-dimensional Bose condensate. While for small impurity-boson couplings this process can be described within the Froehlich model as generation, emission and binding of Bogoliubov phonons, this is no longer adequate if the coupling becomes strong. To treat this regime we consider a mean-field approach beyond the Froehlich model which accounts for the backaction to the condensate, complemented with Truncated Wigner simulations to include quantum fluctuation. For the stationary polaron we find a periodic energy-momentum relation and non-monotonous relation between impurity velocity and polaron momentum including regions of negative impurity velocity. Studying the polaron formation after turning on the impurity-boson coupling quasi-adiabatically and in a sudden quench, we find a very rich scenario of dynamical regimes. Due to the build-up of an effective mass, the impurity is slowed down even if its initial velocity is below the Landau critical value. For larger initial velocities we find deceleration and even backscattering caused by emission of density waves or grey solitons and subsequent formation of stationary polaron states in different momentum sectors. In order to analyze the effect of quantum fluctuations we consider a trapped condensate to avoid 1D infrared divergencies. Using Truncated Wigner simulations in this case we show under what conditions the influence of quantum fluctuations is small.
We study the dynamics of an impurity embedded in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, i.e., the Bose polaron problem. This problem is treated by recalling open quantum systems techniques: the impurity corresponds to a particle performing quantum Brownian motion, while the excitation modes of the gas play the role of the environment. It is crucial that the model considers a parabolic trapping potential to resemble the experimental conditions. Thus, we detail here how the formal derivation changes due to the gas trap, in comparison to the homogeneous gas. More importantly, we elucidate all aspects in which the gas trap plays a relevant role, with an emphasis on the enhancement of the non-Markovian character of the dynamics. We first find that the presence of a gas trap leads to a new form of the bath-impurity coupling constant and a larger degree in the super-Ohmicity of the spectral density. We then solve the quantum Langevin equation to derive the position and momentum variances of the impurity, where the former is a measurable quantity. For the particular case of an untrapped impurity, the asymptotic behavior of this quantity is found to be motion superdiffusive. When the impurity is trapped, we find position squeezing, casting the system suitable for implementing quantum metrology and sensing protocols. We detail how both superdiffusion and squeezing can be enhanced or inhibited by tuning the Bose-Einstein condensate trap frequency. Compared to the homogeneous gas case, the form of the bath-impurity coupling constant changes, and this is manifested as a different dependence of the system dynamics on the past history. To quantify this, we introduce several techniques to compare the different amount of memory effects arising in the homogeneous and inhomogeneous gas. We find that it is higher in the second case. This analysis paves the way to the study of non-Markovianity in ultracold gases, and the possibility to exploit such a property in the realization of new quantum devices.
We study the drag force acting on an impurity moving through a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations. We are able to find exact analytical solutions of the partial differential equations to the level of the Bogoliubov approximation. At zero temperature, we find a nonzero force is exerted on the impurity at subcritical velocities, due to the scattering of quantum fluctuations. We make the following explicit assumptions: far from the impurity the system is in a quantum state given by that of a zero (or finite) temperature Bose-Einstein condensate, and the scattering process generates only causally related reflection/transmission. The results raise unanswered questions in the quantum dynamics associated with the formation of persistent currents.
We investigate the properties of a dilute gas of impurities embedded in an ultracold gas of bosons that forms a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). This work focuses mainly on the equation of state (EoS) of the impurity gas at zero temperature and the induced interaction between impurities mediated by the host bath. We use perturbative field-theory approaches, such as Hugenholtz–Pines formalism, in the weakly interacting regime. In turn, for strong interactions, we aim at non-perturbative techniques such as quantum–Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. Our findings agree with experimental observations for an ultra dilute gas of impurities, modeled in the framework of the single impurity problem; however, as the density of impurities increases, systematic deviations are displayed with respect to the one-body Bose polaron problem.
Recent experimental advances enabled the realization of mobile impurities immersed in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of ultracold atoms. Here, we consider impurities with two or more internal hyperfine states, and study their radio-frequency (rf) absorption spectra, which correspond to transitions between two different hyperfine states. We calculate rf spectra for the case when one of the hyperfine states involved interacts with the BEC, while the other state is noninteracting, by performing a nonperturbative resummation of the probabilities of exciting different numbers of phonon modes. In the presence of interactions, the impurity gets dressed by Bogoliubov excitations of the BEC, and forms a polaron. The rf signal contains a $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function peak centered at the energy of the polaron measured relative to the bare impurity transition frequency with a weight equal to the amount of bare impurity character in the polaron state. The rf spectrum also has a broad incoherent part arising from the background excitations of the BEC, with a characteristic power-law tail that appears as a consequence of the universal physics of contact interactions. We discuss both the direct rf measurement, in which the impurity is initially in an interacting state, and the inverse rf measurement, in which the impurity is initially in a noninteracting state. In the latter case, in order to calculate the rf spectrum, we solve the problem of polaron formation: a mobile impurity is suddenly introduced in a BEC, and dynamically gets dressed by Bogoliubov phonons. Our solution is based on a time-dependent variational ansatz of coherent states of Bogoliubov phonons, which becomes exact when the impurity is localized. Moreover, we show that such an ansatz compares well with a semiclassical estimate of the propagation amplitude of a mobile impurity in the BEC. Our technique can be extended to cases when both initial and final impurity states are interacting with the BEC.
The existence of frictionless flow below a critical velocity for obstacles moving in a superfluid is well established in the context of the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii theory. We calculate the next order correction due to quantum and thermal fluctuations and find a nonzero force acting on a delta-function impurity moving through a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at all subcritical velocities and at all temperatures. The force occurs due to an imbalance in the Doppler shifts of reflected quantum fluctuations from either side of the impurity. Our calculation is based on a consistent extension of Bogoliubov theory to second order in the interaction strength, and finds new analytical solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a gray soliton. Our results raise questions regarding the quantum dynamics in the formation of persistent currents in superfluids.