Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
Non-self-similar modes of vibration of a Bose-Einstein condensate
Mirosław Brewczyk, Charles W. Clark, Maciej Lewenstein, Kazimierz Rza̧żewski
Abstract
A hydrodynamical version of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation is used to describe driven vibrations of a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87 Rb atoms in a magnetic trap. If the trap frequency is suddenly decreased, and later is suddenly returned to its initial value, the response of the condensate departs from the self-similar character that is obtained in the Thomas-Fermi approach. We show that the self-similar Thomas-Fermi modes are, in fact, unstable. Thus, the `quantum pressure' term in the hydrodynamic equations of motion can play a significant role in condensate excitation dynamics, even when its effect on ground-state properties is negligible.