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arXiv:1907.04090 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Transfer of orbital angular momentum superposition from asymmetric Laguerre–Gaussian beam to Bose–Einstein Condensate

Subrata Das, Anal Bhowmik, Koushik Mukherjee, Sonjoy Majumder

Published Sep 9, 2019• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we have formulated a theory for the microscopic interaction of the asymmetric Laguerre–Gaussian (aLG) beam with the atomic Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in a harmonic trap. Here the asymmetry is introduced to an LG beam considering a complex-valued shift in the Cartesian plane keeping the axis of the beam and its vortex states co-axial to the trap axis of the BEC. Due to the inclusion of the asymmetric nature, multiple quantized circulations are generated in the beam. We show how these quantized circulations are transferred to the BEC, resulting in a superposition of matter vortex states. The calculated Rabi frequencies for the dipole as well as quadrupole transitions during the transfer process show distinct variability with the shift parameters of the beam. A significant enhancement of the quadrupole Rabi frequency for higher vorticity states is observed compared to the symmetric single orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode beam at a particular range of the shift parameters. We also demonstrate the variation of superposition of matter vortex states and observe its distinct feature compared to the superposition of the LG modes for different shift parameters. The first order spatial correlation of the superposed states supports this feature and highlights asymmetry in the degree of transverse coherence along orthogonal directions on the surface.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/ab42c4

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Coherent light-matter coupling via STIRAP can offer a versatile route to nucleate quantized vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates through the orbital angular momentum transfer from a vortex beam, yet its efficacy in dipolar condensates remains an open question. Can the orbital angular momentum of a Laguerre-Gaussian beam be coherently transferred to a dipolar BEC via STIRAP? We investigate this for a quasi-two-dimensional trapped dipolar condensate using co-propagating Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian laser beams. The interplay between long-range dipole-dipole interactions and short-range contact interactions enables access to three interaction-driven phases: superfluid, droplet, and supersolid. We find that the amount of angular momentum transferred from the optical field to the dipolar condensate, along with the nucleation and persistence of vortices, depends strongly on the underlying phases of the dipolar BEC. In the superfluid, STIRAP achieves a near-complete population transfer and nucleates a long-lived quantized vortex, reflecting efficient transfer of angular momentum to the condensate. In the droplet phase, although the vortex remains pinned within the density profile, the angular momentum is partially retained and oscillatory, accompanied by droplet fragmentation and recombination. In the supersolid phase, when the external magnetic field is oriented perpendicular to the LG beam's propagation direction, the emergence of a modulated density distribution along with a slight reduction in inter-droplet coherence leads to vortex delocalization and eventually exits from the condensate along the field direction, yielding a vanishing average angular momentum. However, reorienting the magnetic polarization along the beam propagation direction restores efficient angular momentum transfer and stabilizes the vortex within the supersolid phase.
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We describe the coherent transfer of the orbital angular momentum of a photon to an atom in quantized units of ℏ, using a 2-photon stimulated Raman process with Laguerre-Gaussian beams to generate an atomic vortex state in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of sodium atoms. We show that the process is coherent by creating superpositions of different vortex states, where the relative phase between the states is determined by the relative phases of the optical fields. We use this technique to generate circular flow of a BEC confined in a toriodal shaped trap. We measure that the flow of atoms persists for up to 10 seconds, which we interpret as the first evidence of persistent currents in a superfluid Bose gas.
The exchange of orbital angular momentum between a Laguerre-Gaussian beam of light and the center-of-mass motion of an atom or molecule is well known. We show that the orbital angular momentum of light can also be transferred to the internal electronic or rotational motion of an atom or a molecule provided the internal and center-of-mass motions are coupled. However, this transfer does not happen directly to the internal motion, but via center-of-mass motion. If atoms or molecules are cooled down to the recoil limit, then an exchange of angular momentum between the quantized center-of-mass motion and the internal motion is possible during the interaction of cold atoms or molecules with the Laguerre-Gaussian beam. The orientation of the exchanged angular momentum is determined by the sign of the winding number of the Laguerre-Gaussian beam. We present selective results of numerical calculations for the quadrupole transition rates in the interaction of the Laguerre-Gaussian beam with an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate to illustrate the underlying mechanism of light orbital angular momentum transfer. We discuss how the alignment of diatomic molecules will facilitate exploration of the effects of light orbital angular momentum on the electronic motion of molecules.