A Bose-Einstein condensate coupled to a micromechanical oscillator

Chandler Kemp, Eli J. Fox, Scott Flanz +1 more

Augusto Smerzi, Andrea Trombettoni, Teresa Lopez-Arias +4 more

David Hunger, Stephan Camerer, Theodor W. Hänsch +4 more

We report experiments in which the vibrations of a micromechanical oscillator are coupled to the motion of Bose-condensed atoms in a trap. The interaction relies on surface forces experienced by the atoms at about 1 microm distance from the mechanical structure. We observe resonant coupling to several well-resolved mechanical modes of the condensate. Coupling via surface forces does not require magnets, electrodes, or mirrors on the oscillator and could thus be employed to couple atoms to molecular-scale oscillators such as carbon nanotubes.

Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman

Igor Sapina, Thomas Dahm

We study center-of-mass oscillations of a dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate in the vicinity of a superconducting surface. We show that the magnetic field of the magnetic dipoles induces eddy currents in the superconductor, which act back on the Bose–Einstein condensate. This leads to a shift of its oscillation frequency and to an anharmonic coupling of the Bose–Einstein condensate with the superconductor. The anharmonicity creates a coupling to one of the collective modes of the condensate that can be resonantly enhanced if the parameters of the condensate are chosen properly. This provides a new physical mechanism to couple a Bose–Einstein condensate and a superconductor, which becomes significant for 52 Cr, 168 Er or 164 Dy condensates in superconducting microtraps.