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Physical Review Letters

Observation of Islands of Stability in Soft Wall Atom-Optics Billiards

Ariel Kaplan, Nir Friedman, Mikkel F. Andersen, Nir Davidson

Published Dec 11, 2001• 83 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on numerical and experimental observations of islands of stability induced in a Bunimovich stadium atom-optics billiard by a soft wall repulsive potential. A deviation from exponential decay of the survival probability of atoms in an open billiard is observed, and explained by the presence of these stable islands and a sticky region surrounding them. We also investigate islands in dispersing billiards with soft walls, and predict a new mechanism for their formation.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.87.274101

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