Direct Nondestructive Imaging of Magnetization in a Spin-1 Bose-Einstein Gas
James Higbie, Lorraine E. Sadler, S. Inouye +5 more
Polarization-dependent phase-contrast imaging is used to resolve the spatial magnetization profile of an optically trapped ultracold gas. This probe is applied to Larmor precession of degenerate and nondegenerate spin-1 87Rb gases. Transverse magnetization of the Bose-Einstein condensate persists for the condensate lifetime, with a spatial response to magnetic field inhomogeneities consistent with a mean-field model of interactions. In comparison, the magnetization of the non-condensed gas decoheres rapidly. Rotational symmetry implies that the Larmor frequency of a spinor condensate be density independent, and thus suitable for precise magnetometry with high spatial resolution.
arXiv:cond-mat/0502517•Physical Review Letters•Jul 26, 2005•225 citations