We present a generalized model for the evolution of atomic wave-packets in matter-wave interferometers. This method provides an efficient tool for analyzing the performance of atomic interferometers using atom clouds prepared in a trap as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) or as a thermal ensemble. Predictions of the model for dynamic properties such as wave-packet size and phase are in excellent agreement with explicit numerical solutions of the non-linear Gross-Pitaevskii equations and enable fast calculations of interferometric performance in regimes where full numerical solutions become impractical. As a starting point, the static Thomas-Fermi (TF) approximation for a BEC in a harmonic trap is generalized to the whole range of atom-atom interaction strengths: from non-interacting atoms (low densities) to the standard TF limit (high atomic densities, as long as the condensate approximation still holds). In particular, this generalization allows a good estimation of atomic cloud properties along the transition from a three-dimensional to a quasi-one-dimensional BEC in an elongated trap. We then develop a theoretical model of wave-packet evolution in time-dependent conditions. The model is applicable for a wide range of dynamical problems involving evolution in time-dependent potentials and in a changing mean-field atomic repulsion due to splitting and separation of wave-packets. We use the model for studying two effects that influence interferometric coherence: imperfect spatial recombination in a two-state interferometer (the so-called "Humpty-Dumpty effect") and phase diffusion due to number uncertainty in the two interferometer arms, which was previously studied thoroughly only for interferometric schemes where the BECs in the two arms stay trapped (for example, in a double-well potential).
We present a generalized model for the evolution of atomic wave-packets in matter-wave interferometers. This method provides an efficient tool for analyzing the performance of atomic interferometers using atom clouds prepared in a trap as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) or as a thermal ensemble. Predictions of the model for dynamic properties such as wave-packet size and phase are in excellent agreement with explicit numerical solutions of the non-linear Gross-Pitaevskii equations and enable fast calculations of interferometric performance in regimes where full numerical solutions become impractical. As a starting point, the static Thomas-Fermi (TF) approximation for a BEC in a harmonic trap is generalized to the whole range of atom-atom interaction strengths: from non-interacting atoms (low densities) to the standard TF limit (high atomic densities, as long as the condensate approximation still holds). In particular, this generalization allows a good estimation of atomic cloud properties along the transition from a three-dimensional to a quasi-one-dimensional BEC in an elongated trap. We then develop a theoretical model of wave-packet evolution in time-dependent conditions. The model is applicable for a wide range of dynamical problems involving evolution in time-dependent potentials and in a changing mean-field atomic repulsion due to splitting and separation of wave-packets. We use the model for studying two effects that influence interferometric coherence: imperfect spatial recombination in a two-state interferometer (the so-called "Humpty-Dumpty effect") and phase diffusion due to number uncertainty in the two interferometer arms, which was previously studied thoroughly only for interferometric schemes where the BECs in the two arms stay trapped (for example, in a double-well potential).
We present a general method for calculating wave-packet evolution in the context of ultracold atoms in matter-wave interferometers. This method provides an efficient tool for analyzing the performance of atomic interferometers based on atom clouds initially prepared in a trap in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) state or in a thermal distribution. Without having to solve explicitely the Gross-Pitaevskii or the Schrodinger equation, this provides a good estimation of dynamic wave-packet properties such as size and phase across the wave-packet, and slows to predict the coherence of the interferometer. We develop a generalized Thomas-Fermi approximation for a BEC in a harmonic trap, which is valid for any atom-atom interaction strength. In particular, this approximation also provides a good estimation of the transition from a three-dimensional to a one-dimensional BEC in an elongated trap. The approximation is followed by a theory of dynamic wave-packet evolution when the trap is fully or partially switched off and the atoms are split and propagate, for example, in free space or in a matter waveguide. The method is applied for studying two examples of interferometric effects: reduction of coherence of two-state interferometers due to imperfect spatial recombination of the two interferometer arms (the Humpty-Dumpty effect) and phase diffusion due to number uncertainty in the two interferometer arms, which was previously studied thoroughly only for interferometric schemes where the BECs in the two arms stay trapped (for example, in a double-well potential). For both effects we extend the applicability of the theory to a wide range of interferometric scenarios that were not included in previous theories.
We present a model that unifies Gaussian wave-packet evolution with the so-called ``time-dependent Thomas-Fermi approximation'' for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of strongly interacting atoms. The unified simple intuitive formalism describes the stationary or time-dependent properties of single atoms, thermal clouds, or a BEC over a wide range of interaction strengths, including intermediate interaction regimes or scenarios where both interaction regimes coexist. Excellent agreement with precise numerical calculations (Gross-Pitaevskii equations) is obtained. The model is particularly suitable for describing three-dimensional evolution in free space or in time-dependent potentials for trapping, guiding, accelerating, focusing, or splitting matter waves in interferometers. We present a unified theory of spatial coherence in matter-wave interferometers and find good agreement between analytical expressions for the evolution of the coherence length of thermal atoms or a BEC and precise numerical calculations. In addition to the insight provided by the model, it supplies a simple and useful tool for the design and performance analysis of atom interferometers with many operational parameters, where a precise numerical calculation might exhaust unrealistic calculational resources.
An atom interferometer is a sensitive device that has potential for many useful applications. Atoms are sensitive to electromagnetic fields due to their electric and magnetic moments and their mass allows them to be deflected in a gravitational field, thereby making them attractive for measuring inertial forces. The narrow momentum distribution of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a great asset in realizing portable atom interferometers. An example is a guided-wave atom interferometer that uses a confining potential to guide the motion of the condensate. Despite the promise of guided-wave atom interferometry with BEC, spatial phase and phase diffusion limit the contrast of the interference fringes. The control of these phases is required for successful development of a BEC-based guided-wave atom interferometer. This thesis analyses the guided-wave atom interferometer, where an atomic BEC cloud at the center of a confining potential is split into two clouds that move along different arms of the interferometer. The clouds accumulate relative phase due to the environment, spatially inhomogeneous trapping potential and atom-atom interactions within the condensate. At the end of the interferometric cycle, the clouds are recombined producing a cloud at rest and moving clouds. The number of atoms in the clouds that emerge depends on the relative phase accumulated by the clouds during propagation. This is investigated by deriving an expression for the probability of finding any given number of atoms in the clouds that emerge after recombination. Characteristic features like mean, standard deviation and cross-correlation function of the probability density distribution are calculated and the contrast of the interference fringes is optimized. This thesis found that optimum contrast is achieved through the control of total population of atoms in the condensate, trap frequencies, s-wave scattering length, and the duration of the interferometric cycle.
The objective of this PhD thesis was the examination of the dynamical behaviour of coherent wave packets realised by Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) out of 87Rubidium atoms. Their dynamics is mainly affected by linear dispersion due to momentum uncertainty and by nonlinear atomic interaction due to s-wave scattering. The primary objective was the realisation of bright atomic solitons, which represent density distributions with time-independent shape. They only exist if the effects of dispersion and nonlinearity cancel out each other. For 87Rb atoms with repulsive interaction this requires the dispersion of the ensemble to be anomalous. The dispersion of the wave packet can be influenced in sign and in magnitude by superimposing a periodic potential and by changing the quasi-momentum of the atoms. For that purpose an apparatus to produce Bose-Einstein condesates as source of coherent matter waves was build up and characterised. The phase transition was observed as well in magnetic as in optical dipole traps. Experiments related to the dynamic of wave packets were conducted in a twodimensional optical trap retaining the atoms against gravity and allowing them to propagate along the axis of the trap. The periodic potential to influence the dispersion results from two counterpropagating interfering laser beams superimposed to the dipole trap. A first set of experiments demonstrated the possibility to influence the linear dispersion of matter waves by changing the quasi-momentum of the atoms in a periodic potential. In particular wave packets with anomalous dispersion were prepared at the brillouin zone edge in quasi-momentum space. Their behaviour is equivalent to particles with a negative effective mass, which was be confirmed by reversing the time evolution of an expanding wave packet. This demonstration of a negative effective mass of wave packets was an essential prerequisite for the creation of atomic solitons. Their formation was observed having prepared Bose-Einstein condensates of only 1000 atoms. A further set of systematic experiments was performed confirming the solitonic behaviour of the wave packets. This was the first realisation of atomic solitons with repulsive interaction also called Gap-Solitons.
We numerically implement a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, where the coherence and oscillatory properties of Bose-Einstein condensates are explored and the system is modeled by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Several time-dependent external trapping potentials were engineered seeking the adiabatic regime which is quantified using fidelity measurements with respect to the actual ground-state of the trap. The dynamics of both conjugate variables, namely density and phase of the matter-wave function, are shown. Moreover, the density and fidelity profiles of the system are presented when the phase-shifter is switching-on and -off, being found in the presented profiles that the system exhibits three different regimes during the recombination stage among them even an orthogonal BEC to the original one is obtained. We achieve the numerical solution through an adequate implementation of the finite-difference method for the spatial discretization and a Runge-Kutta method for the time evolution.
The wave packet dynamics in atomic systems and in Bose-Einstein condensates is investigated by means of a time-dependent variational principle. The wave packets are assumed to be parametrized by a set of time-dependent parameters. The time evolution of the parameters of the coupled Gaussian wave packets can be calculated from a set of ordinary differential equations, as obtained from the time-dependent variational principle. Unfortunately, the set of equations is ill-behaved in most practical applications, depending on the number of propagated Gaussian wave packets, and methods for regularization are needed. A general method for regularization based on applying adequate nonholonomic inequality constraints to the evolution of the parameters, keeping the equations of motion well-behaved is presented. The power of the method is demonstrated for a non-integrable system with two degrees of freedom. The Gaussian wave packet (GWP) method is applied to the three-dimensional hydrogen atom. The regularization based on the introduction of Kustaanheimo-Stiefel coordinates and a fictitious time is performed. The regularization implies a transition from the three-dimensional physical position space to a four-dimensional parameter space, spanned by the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel coordinates. The regularization is accompanied by a restriction on physically allowed wave functions. The Coulomb potential is transformed to a harmonic potential and GWPs are the exact solutions, provided they fulfill the restriction. The effect of the restriction on the four-dimensional GWP is discussed and it is shown that the GWPs can satisfy the restriction if the Gaussian parameter space is reduced in a certain way. The exact analytic evolution of the restricted GWP is presented, and the expansion of a localized initial wave function in the restricted Gaussian basis set and its analytic propagation in the fictitious time are shown. Symmetry subspaces with conserved magnetic quantum number m and with conserved angular momentum quantum numbers l,m are treated separately. The method is also applied to the non-integrable H atom in in a homogeneous magnetic field and in perpendicular external electric and magnetic fields. The evolution of the wave packets is determined by the constrained time-dependent variational principle. The numerical results are compared to numerically exact values and show excellent agreement. Another class of systems where the variational Gaussian wave packet method yields good results are cold gases. In this thesis Bose-Einstein condensates are investigated, where in addition to the common short-range contact interaction two different long-range interactions, viz. a laser induced gravity-like 1/r-interaction or a magnetic dipole-dipole interaction are present. The dynamics as resulting from the time-dependent extended Gross-Pitaevskii equation for Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive 1/r-interaction is investigated with both the GWP method and numerically exact calculations. It is shown that these condensates exhibit signatures known from the nonlinear dynamics of autonomous Hamiltonian systems. The two stationary solutions created in a tangent bifurcation at a critical value of the scattering length are identified as elliptical and hyperbolical fixed points, corresponding to stable and unstable stationary states of the condensate. The stable stationary state is surrounded by elliptical islands, corresponding to condensates periodically oscillating in time, whereas condensate wave functions in the unstable region undergo a collapse within finite time. For negative scattering lengths below the tangent bifurcation no stationary solutions exist, i.e., the condensate is always unstable and collapses. The dynamics of condensates with inter-atomic magnetic dipole-dipole interaction is investigated in the mean field limit using a Gaussian trial function. The anisotropy of the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction breaks the spherical symmetry and for ordered dipoles an effectively two-dimensional system with cylindrical symmetry is obtained. Special attention is payed to the regularity of the dynamics and it is shown that a transition from regular to chaotic motion takes place with increasing energy where regions of regular and chaotic motion coexist. It is shown that stable modes exist at energies high above the saddle point energy, i.e. at energies where a collapse of the condensate is expected.