For spinor Bose-Einstein condensates both the total spin
S and its
Z component
SZ should be conserved. However, in existing theories, only the conservation of
SZ has been taken into account. To remedy this, here we attempt to take the conservation of both
S and
SZ into account. For this purpose, a total spin state with the good quantum numbers
S and
SZ is introduced in the trial wave function; thereby a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation has been derived. With this equation, the ground bands of the
23Na and
87Rb condensates have been studied, where the levels that are distinct in
S split. It was found that the level density is extremely dense in the bottom of the ground band of
23Na, i.e., in the vicinity of the ground state. On the contrary, for
87Rb, the levels are extremely dense in the top of the ground band.
We have performed a quantum mechanic calculation (including solving the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations to obtain the spatial wave functions, and diagonalizing the spin-dependent Hamiltonian in the spin-space to obtain the total spin state) together with an analytical analysis based on a classical model. Then, according to the relative orientations of the spins
SA,
SB and
SC of the three species, the spin-textures of the ground state can be classified into two types. In Type-I the three spins are either parallel or anti-parallel to each others, while in Type-II they point to different directions but remain to be coplanar. Moreover, according to the magnitudes of
SA,
SB and
SC the spin-textures can be further classified into four kinds, namely,
p+
p+
p (all atoms of each species are in singlet-pairs), one species in
f (fully polarized) and two species in
q (a mixture of polarized atoms and singlet-pairs), two in
f and one in
q, and
f+
f+
f. Other combinations are not allowed. The scopes of the parameters that supports a specific spin-texture have been specified. A number of spin-texture-transitions have been found. For Type-I, the critical values at which a transition takes place are given by simple analytical formulae, therefore these values can be predicted.
We consider a mixture of two distinct species of atoms of pseudospin
21 with both intraspecies and interspecies spin-exchange interactions and find all the ground states in a general case of the parameters in the effective Hamiltonian. In general, corresponding to the two-species and two-pseudospin states, there are four orbital wave functions into which the atoms condense. We find that in certain parameter regimes, the ground state is the so-called polarized entangled Bose-Einstein condensation; that is, in addition to condensation of interspecies singlet pairs, there are unpaired atoms with spins polarized in the same direction. The interspecies entanglement and polarization significantly affect the generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equations governing the four orbital wave functions into which the atoms condense, as an interesting interplay between spin and orbital degrees of freedom.
Abstract We have performed a quantum mechanic calculation (including solving the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations to obtain the spatial wave functions, and diagonalizing the spin-dependent Hamiltonian in the spin-space to obtain the total spin state) together with an analytical analysis based on a classical model. Then, according to the relative orientations of the spins SA, SB and SC of the three species, the spin-structures of the ground state can be classified into two types. In Type-I the three spins are either parallel or anti-parallel to each other, while in Type-II they point to different directions but remain to be coplanar. Moreover, according to the magnitudes of SA, SB and SC, the spin-structures can be further classified into four kinds, namely, p + p + p (all atoms of each species are in singlet-pairs), one species in f (fully polarized) and two species in q (a mixture of polarized atoms and singlet-pairs), two in f and one in q, and f + f + f. Other combinations are not allowed. The scopes of the parameters that supports a specific spin-structure have been specified. A number of spin-structure-transitions have been found. For Type-I, the critical values at which a transition takes place are given by simple analytical formulae, therefore these values can be predict.
Recently it has been predicted that if a gas of spin-1/2 bosonic atoms is cooled down while conserving its total spin, it can form a Bose-Einstein condensate in a new type of fragmented state. In that fragmented state two orbital wave functions are macroscopically occupied. We derive a set of Gross-Pitaevskii equations that describe the two occupied wave functions, taking into account the effects of interatomic interactions. We then analyze the solutions of those equations in some special cases. In particular, we find that if the fragmented state is realized in a toroidal trap, under certain conditions the system will spontaneously acquire macroscopic orbital angular momentum. Finally, we discuss the nature of the phase transition from an uncondensed gas to a fragmented-state condensate.