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:1608.08566 · Physical Review A

Expansion of harmonically trapped interacting particles and time dependence of the contact

Chunlei Qu, Лев П. Питаевский, S. Stringari

Published Dec 23, 2016• 24 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the expansion of an interacting atomic system at zero temperature, following its release from an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic trap and calculate the time dependence of its density and momentum distribution, with special focus on the behavior of the contact parameter. We consider different quantum systems, including the unitary Fermi gas of infinite scattering length, the weakly interacting Bose gas, and two interacting particles with highly asymmetric mass imbalance. In all cases analytic results can be obtained, which show that the initial value of the contact, fixing the $1/{k}^{4}$ tail of the momentum distribution, disappears for large expansion times. Our results raise the problem of understanding the recent experiment of R. Chang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 235303 (2016)] carried out on a weakly interacting Bose gas of metastable $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ atoms, where a $1/{r}^{4}$ tail in the density distribution was observed after a large expansion time, implying the existence of the $1/{k}^{4}$ tail in the asymptotic momentum distribution.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.94.063635

Related papers

Momentum distribution of a trapped Fermi gas with large scattering length

Luciano Viverit, S. Giorgini, Лев П. Питаевский +1 more

Using a scattering length parametrization of the crossover from a BCS state to a Bose-Einstein condensate as well as the local density approximation for the density profile, we calculate the momentum distribution of a harmonically trapped atomic Fermi gas at zero temperature. Various interaction regimes are considered, including the BCS phase, the unitarity limit, and the molecular regime. We show that the relevant parameter which characterizes the crossover is given by the dimensionless combination ${N}^{1/6}{a/a}_{\mathrm{ho}},$ where N is the number of atoms, a is the scattering length, and ${a}_{\mathrm{ho}}$ is the oscillator length. The width of the momentum distribution is shown to depend in a crucial way on the value and sign of this parameter. Our predictions can be relevant for experiments on ultracold atomic Fermi gases near a Feshbach resonance.

arXiv:cond-mat/0307538•Physical Review A•Jan 29, 2004•46 citations

Tan’s contact of a harmonically trapped one-dimensional Bose gas: Strong-coupling expansion and conjectural approach at arbitrary interactions

Guillaume Lang, Patrizia Vignolo, Anna Minguzzi

We study Tan’s contact, i.e. the coefficient of the high-momentum tails of the momentum distribution at leading order, for an interacting one-dimensional Bose gas subjected to a harmonic confinement. Using a strong-coupling systematic expansion of the ground-state energy of the homogeneous system stemming from the Bethe-Ansatz solution, together with the local-density approximation, we obtain the strong-coupling expansion for Tan’s contact of the harmonically trapped gas. Also, we use a very accurate conjecture for the ground-state energy of the homogeneous system to obtain an approximate expression for Tan’s contact for arbitrary interaction strength, thus estimating the accuracy of the strong-coupling expansion. Our results are relevant for ongoing experiments with ultracold atomic gases.

arXiv:1610.07773•The European Physical Journal Special Topics•May 1, 2017•27 citations

Universal Contact for a Tonks-Girardeau Gas at Finite Temperature

Patrizia Vignolo, Anna Minguzzi

We determine the finite-temperature momentum distribution of a strongly interacting 1D Bose gas in the Tonks-Girardeau (impenetrable-boson) limit under harmonic confinement and explore its universal properties associated to the scale invariance of the model. We show that, at difference from the unitary Fermi gas in three dimensions, the weight of its large-momentum tails--given by Tan's contact--increases with temperature and calculate the high-temperature universal second contact coefficient using a virial expansion.

arXiv:1209.1545•Physical Review Letters•Jan 8, 2013•75 citations

Efimov correlations in strongly interacting Bose gases

Marcus Barth, Johannes Hofmann

We compute the virial coefficients, the contact parameters, and the momentum distribution of a strongly interacting three-dimensional Bose gas by means of a virial expansion up to third order in the fugacity, which takes into account three-body correlations exactly. Our results characterize the nondegenerate regime of the interacting Bose gas, where the thermal wavelength is smaller than the interparticle spacing but the scattering length may be arbitrarily large. We observe a rapid variation of the third virial coefficient as the scattering length is tuned across the three-atom and the atom-dimer thresholds. The momentum distribution at unitarity displays a universal high-momentum tail with a log-periodic momentum dependence, which is a direct signature of Efimov physics. We provide a quantitative description of the momentum distribution at high momentum as measured by P. Makotyn et al. [Nat. Phys. 10, 116 (2014)], and our calculations indicate that the lowest trimer state might not be occupied in the experiment. Our results allow for a spectroscopy of Efimov states in the unitary limit.

arXiv:1506.06751•Physical Review A•Dec 30, 2015•32 citations

On the survival of the quantum depletion of a condensate after release from a magnetic trap

J. A. Ross, Piotr Deuar, D. K. Shin +4 more

We present observations of the high momentum tail in expanding Bose-Einstein condensates of metastable Helium atoms released from a harmonic trap. The far-field density profile exhibits features that support identification of the tails of the momentum distribution as originating in the in-situ quantum depletion prior to release. Thus, we corroborate recent observations of slowly-decaying tails in the far-field beyond the thermal component. This observation is in conflict with the hydrodynamic theory, which predicts that the in-situ depletion does not survive when atoms are released from a trap. Indeed, the depleted tails even appear stronger in the far-field than expected before release, and we discuss the challenges of interpreting this in terms of the Tan contact in the trapped gas. In complement to these observations, full quantum simulations of the experiment show that, under the right conditions, the depletion can persist into the far field after expansion. Moreover, the simulations provide mechanisms for survival and for the the large-momentum tails to appear stronger after expansion due to an acceleration of the depleted atoms by the mean-field potential. However, while in qualitative agreement, the final depletion observed in the experiment is much larger than in the simulation.

arXiv:2103.15283•Scientific Reports•Aug 1, 2022•7 citations

Noninteracting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic atom trap: Exact one-particle properties at zero temperature

F. Gleisberg, W. Wonneberger, U. Schlöder +1 more

One-particle properties of noninteracting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap and at zero temperature are studied. Exact expressions and asymptotic results for a large fermion number N are given for the particle density distribution ${n}_{0}(z,N).$ For large N and near the classical boundary at the Fermi energy, the density displays increasing fluctuations. A simple scaling of these tails of the density distribution with respect to N is established. The Fourier transform of the density distribution is calculated exactly. It displays a small but characteristic hump near ${2k}_{F},$ with ${k}_{F}$ being a properly defined Fermi wave number. This is due to Friedel oscillations, which are identified and discussed. These quantum effects are missing in the semiclassical approximation. Momentum distributions are also evaluated and discussed. As an example of a time-dependent one-particle problem, we calculate exactly the evolution of the particle density when the trap is suddenly switched off, and find a simple scaling behavior, in agreement with recent general results.

arXiv:quant-ph/0009085•Physical Review A•Nov 3, 2000•61 citations
We study the expansion of an interacting atomic system at zero temperature, following its release from an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic trap and calculate the time dependence of its density and momentum distribution, with special focus on the behavior of the contact parameter. We consider different quantum systems, including the unitary Fermi gas of infinite scattering length, the weakly interacting Bose gas, and two interacting particles with highly asymmetric mass imbalance. In all cases analytic results can be obtained, which show that the initial value of the contact, fixing the 1/k41/{k}^{4}1/k4 tail of the momentum distribution, disappears for large expansion times. Our results raise the problem of understanding the recent experiment of R. Chang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 235303 (2016)] carried out on a weakly interacting Bose gas of metastable 4He^{4}\mathrm{He}4He atoms, where a 1/r41/{r}^{4}1/r4 tail in the density distribution was observed after a large expansion time, implying the existence of the 1/k41/{k}^{4}1/k4 tail in the asymptotic momentum distribution.
Using a scattering length parametrization of the crossover from a BCS state to a Bose-Einstein condensate as well as the local density approximation for the density profile, we calculate the momentum distribution of a harmonically trapped atomic Fermi gas at zero temperature. Various interaction regimes are considered, including the BCS phase, the unitarity limit, and the molecular regime. We show that the relevant parameter which characterizes the crossover is given by the dimensionless combination N1/6a/aho,{N}^{1/6}{a/a}_{\mathrm{ho}},N1/6a/aho​, where N is the number of atoms, a is the scattering length, and aho{a}_{\mathrm{ho}}aho​ is the oscillator length. The width of the momentum distribution is shown to depend in a crucial way on the value and sign of this parameter. Our predictions can be relevant for experiments on ultracold atomic Fermi gases near a Feshbach resonance.
We study Tan’s contact, i.e. the coefficient of the high-momentum tails of the momentum distribution at leading order, for an interacting one-dimensional Bose gas subjected to a harmonic confinement. Using a strong-coupling systematic expansion of the ground-state energy of the homogeneous system stemming from the Bethe-Ansatz solution, together with the local-density approximation, we obtain the strong-coupling expansion for Tan’s contact of the harmonically trapped gas. Also, we use a very accurate conjecture for the ground-state energy of the homogeneous system to obtain an approximate expression for Tan’s contact for arbitrary interaction strength, thus estimating the accuracy of the strong-coupling expansion. Our results are relevant for ongoing experiments with ultracold atomic gases.
We determine the finite-temperature momentum distribution of a strongly interacting 1D Bose gas in the Tonks-Girardeau (impenetrable-boson) limit under harmonic confinement and explore its universal properties associated to the scale invariance of the model. We show that, at difference from the unitary Fermi gas in three dimensions, the weight of its large-momentum tails--given by Tan's contact--increases with temperature and calculate the high-temperature universal second contact coefficient using a virial expansion.
We compute the virial coefficients, the contact parameters, and the momentum distribution of a strongly interacting three-dimensional Bose gas by means of a virial expansion up to third order in the fugacity, which takes into account three-body correlations exactly. Our results characterize the nondegenerate regime of the interacting Bose gas, where the thermal wavelength is smaller than the interparticle spacing but the scattering length may be arbitrarily large. We observe a rapid variation of the third virial coefficient as the scattering length is tuned across the three-atom and the atom-dimer thresholds. The momentum distribution at unitarity displays a universal high-momentum tail with a log-periodic momentum dependence, which is a direct signature of Efimov physics. We provide a quantitative description of the momentum distribution at high momentum as measured by P. Makotyn et al. [Nat. Phys. 10, 116 (2014)], and our calculations indicate that the lowest trimer state might not be occupied in the experiment. Our results allow for a spectroscopy of Efimov states in the unitary limit.
We present observations of the high momentum tail in expanding Bose-Einstein condensates of metastable Helium atoms released from a harmonic trap. The far-field density profile exhibits features that support identification of the tails of the momentum distribution as originating in the in-situ quantum depletion prior to release. Thus, we corroborate recent observations of slowly-decaying tails in the far-field beyond the thermal component. This observation is in conflict with the hydrodynamic theory, which predicts that the in-situ depletion does not survive when atoms are released from a trap. Indeed, the depleted tails even appear stronger in the far-field than expected before release, and we discuss the challenges of interpreting this in terms of the Tan contact in the trapped gas. In complement to these observations, full quantum simulations of the experiment show that, under the right conditions, the depletion can persist into the far field after expansion. Moreover, the simulations provide mechanisms for survival and for the the large-momentum tails to appear stronger after expansion due to an acceleration of the depleted atoms by the mean-field potential. However, while in qualitative agreement, the final depletion observed in the experiment is much larger than in the simulation.
One-particle properties of noninteracting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap and at zero temperature are studied. Exact expressions and asymptotic results for a large fermion number N are given for the particle density distribution n0(z,N).{n}_{0}(z,N).n0​(z,N). For large N and near the classical boundary at the Fermi energy, the density displays increasing fluctuations. A simple scaling of these tails of the density distribution with respect to N is established. The Fourier transform of the density distribution is calculated exactly. It displays a small but characteristic hump near 2kF,{2k}_{F},2kF​, with kF{k}_{F}kF​ being a properly defined Fermi wave number. This is due to Friedel oscillations, which are identified and discussed. These quantum effects are missing in the semiclassical approximation. Momentum distributions are also evaluated and discussed. As an example of a time-dependent one-particle problem, we calculate exactly the evolution of the particle density when the trap is suddenly switched off, and find a simple scaling behavior, in agreement with recent general results.