We experimentally and theoretically study phase coherence in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates of ^{87}Rb atoms on an atom chip. Using Ramsey interferometry we determine the temporal decay of coherence between the |F=1,m_{F}=-1⟩ and |F=2,m_{F}=+1⟩ hyperfine ground states. We observe that the coherence is limited by random collisional phase shifts due to the stochastic nature of atom loss. The mechanism is confirmed quantitatively by a quantum trajectory method based on a master equation which takes into account collisional interactions, atom number fluctuations, and losses in the system. This decoherence process can be slowed down by reducing the density of the condensate. Our findings are relevant for experiments on quantum metrology and many-particle entanglement with Bose-Einstein condensates and the development of chip-based atomic clocks.
We experimentally and theoretically study phase coherence in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates of ^{87}Rb atoms on an atom chip. Using Ramsey interferometry we determine the temporal decay of coherence between the |F=1,m_{F}=-1⟩ and |F=2,m_{F}=+1⟩ hyperfine ground states. We observe that the coherence is limited by random collisional phase shifts due to the stochastic nature of atom loss. The mechanism is confirmed quantitatively by a quantum trajectory method based on a master equation which takes into account collisional interactions, atom number fluctuations, and losses in the system. This decoherence process can be slowed down by reducing the density of the condensate. Our findings are relevant for experiments on quantum metrology and many-particle entanglement with Bose-Einstein condensates and the development of chip-based atomic clocks.
Ultracold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates represent a burgeoning and ever exciting area of research which has produced numerous breakthroughs in the last 15 years. Ultracold atoms at nano-Kelvin temperatures, isolated in atom traps from the hot, room temperature environment, exhibit ultimate quantum properties and can serve as pure samples for testing quantum mechanics and performing precision measurements. The research described in this thesis investigates, both theoretically and experimentally, the coherence and dynamical evolution of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The studies are performed on the |1 › ≡ F = 1,mF = −1 › and |2 › ≡ |F = 2,mF = +1 › hyperfine ground states of a 87Rb BEC trapped on an atom chip. Conventional understanding has been that the fringe contrast in interferometric experiments on a BEC is limited by the mean-field dephasing due to strong interatomic interactions which lead to inhomogeneous collisional shifts. We have discovered using Ramsey interferometry a mean-field driven self-rephasing effect in a trapped twocomponent BEC. When combined with a spin-echo technique, we find that the selfrephasing leads to a coherence time of 2.8 s, the longest ever recorded for an interacting BEC. Secondly, we have developed a new technique based on periodic collective oscillations for precision measurements of the interspecies and intraspecies scattering lengths and derived an analytic mean-field theory for the phase and density dynamics in the twocomponent BEC. This technique has been applied to the measurements of the scattering lengths for the two components, |1i and |2i, in 87Rb with a precision of 0.016%. Additionally, the two-body loss coefficients for these states have been measured. Thirdly, we have developed and applied a new, interferometric method for calibrating the detection system, in order to determine the total atom number precisely for Ramsey interferometric measurements. The calibration coefficient is found to be in a good agreement with that obtained using a conventional calibration technique based on the critical BEC temperature. Finally, we have detected predicted RF-induced Feshbach resonances by monitoring changes in the two-body loss coefficients in the two-component BEC. Conventional Feshbach resonances have been used in many works to tune the s-wave interactions; however, there is no achievable magnetic Feshbach resonance for magnetically trappable states of 87Rb. The RF-induced resonances which we have detected can provide a way to tune the scattering lengths which is important for interferometry and entanglement experiments. The positions of the resonances may provide useful information for predicting the atomic scattering properties of 87Rb.
In the years following the first Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute atomic gases in 1995, several experiments demonstrated many fundamental properties of two-component BEC. Subsequent to these pioneering experiments, almost a decade passed with little experimental activity, relative to investigations of single-component condensates. In somewhat of a renaissance, the initial observations of two-component BEC have been revisited in recent years, consolidating and clarifying results of the early works, and illuminating new and surprising behaviour of these rich quantum fluids. This thesis presents new experimental results on the relative phase evolution of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). We approach our study of this system from the dual perspective of binary superfluidity and trapped atom interferometry. We observe nonequilibrium dynamics of the condensate that are deeply connected to the physics of interpenetrating superfluids. These dynamics have consequences for interferometers whose two paths are different internal spin states of the condensate atoms. Using trapped condensates for precision measurement draws upon the benefits of confined atom interferometry - long interrogation times, precise position control to measure near-field potentials - in addition to the unique coherence properties of BECs. Precision measurementwith trapped particles, however, is obstructed by the inherent inhomogeneities associated with the confinement itself. Spatial variation of the external potentials and atomic density can give rise to dephasing during the free evolution and imperfect splitting and recombination of the interferometric paths. In this thesis, we consider the dephasing of the two-componentmean field order parameter, which tends to diminish the interference signal attained with the condensate. The promise of fuhs for atom interferometry lies within using nonclassical many body states to reduce the fundamental noise limit imposed upon measuring the projection of atomic pseudospin. Before the many body quantum properties of two-component condensates can be used to their full potential, the ideal classical limit must be achieved and investigated. As in optical interferometry, the classical ideality of an interference measurement is contingent upon control of the spatialmodes - thematter wave fields, or single particle wave functions. Whilst much attention is currently focused on preparing nonclassical many body states for entanglement and squeezing of the condensate pseudospin, this thesis focuses on the ancillary yet important issue of spatial inhomogeneity of the condensate mean field. Reversal of the spatially inhomogeneous mean field evolution is demonstrated, employing the techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance. A new method is demonstrated to probe pseudospin -1/2 condensates involving microwave adiabatic passage. The technique permits simultaneous, spatially resolved absorption imaging of the spatial mode of each component. Controlled manipulation of the components into Zeeman states with different magnetic moments allows spatial separation using a Stern-Gerlach separation technique, providing a spatially resolved projection of the local condensate pseudospin from a single absorption image. We propose an interferometric technique which employs this imaging method to directly image the relative phase. The miscibility of the two components depends on the relative magnitude of the interactions between various collision partners. The boundary of this miscibility is found to be less pronounced than expected from the commonly applied results of homogeneous super-fluids.The effects of kinetic energy are shown to be significant at the threshold of miscibility, leading to a breakdown in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. Magnetic dipole transitions amongst alkali ground states are often used to prepare, manipulate, and interrogate pseudospin -1/2 condensates. We present a thorough investigation of the two-photonmagnetic dipole transitions between the |F = 1,mF = -1〉 and |F = 2,mF = +1〉 states, and the |F = 1,mF = +1〉 and |F = 2,mF = -1〉 states of 87Rb. Taking into account all 8 Zeeman levels of the electronic ground state reveals markedly different radiative shifts and effects beyond the rotating wave approximation, compared to the three-level formalism commonly used for these transitions.This has implications for Ramsey interferometry using the two-photon magnetic dipole transitions. The unchartered experimental territory offered by two-component condensates is vast, and future directions, supplementary to the work in this thesis, are elucidated.
We report on progress towards experiments studying the coherence of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate using a magnetic film atom chip. Our atom chip provides extremely low heating rates and offers advantageous conditions for increased coherence times. We currently trap 4 × 10787Rb atoms in the |F= 1, mF = −1> ground state and use forced evaporative cooling towards the degeneracy. The Ramsey method of separated fields will be used to interrogate the evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a superposition of the |1, −1> and |2, 1> states.
In our original paper (Altin et al 2011 New J. Phys. 13 065020), we presented the results from a Ramsey atom interferometer operating with an optically trapped sample of up to 10 6 Bose-condensed 87 Rb atoms in the m F = 0 clock states. We were unable to observe projection noise fluctuations on the interferometer output, which we attribute to the stability of our microwave oscillator and background magnetic field. Numerical simulations of the Gross–Pitaevskii equations for our system show that dephasing due to spatial dynamics driven by interparticle interactions accounts for much of the observed decay in fringe visibility at long interrogation times. The simulations show good agreement with the experimental data when additional technical decoherence is accounted for, and suggest that the clock states are indeed immiscible. With smaller samples of 5 × 10 4 atoms, we observe a coherence time of τ = 1.0 +0.5 −0.3 s.
We observe the coherence of an interacting two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) surviving for seconds in a trapped Ramsey interferometer. Mean-field-driven collective oscillations of two components lead to periodic dephasing and rephasing of condensate wave functions with a slow decay of the interference fringe visibility. We apply spin echo synchronous with the self-rephasing of the condensate to reduce the influence of state-dependent atom losses, significantly enhancing the visibility up to 0.75 at the evolution time of 1.5 s. Mean-field theory consistently predicts higher visibility than experimentally observed values. We quantify the effects of classical and quantum noise and infer a coherence time of 2.8 s for a trapped condensate of $5.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{4}$ interacting atoms.
Atom chips provide a flexible and scalable platform for applications of cold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in future quantum technologies including miniaturised atomic clocks, quantum information processing and quantum sensors. Our project studies the coherent properties of a two-component BEC prepared on a magnetic film atom chip using a two-photon microwave/radiofrequency transition. At a particular value 3.23 G of the magnetic field two hyperfine states |F =1, mF = −1 > and |F = 2, mF = 1 > in 87Rb exhibit a low differential Zeeman shift (431 Hz/G2) and can be trapped simultaneously with long dephasing times. The coherent superposition of these two states has a long coherence time and is attractive for applications in quantum atom devices.