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Laser Physics

An investigation of the role of quantum statistics in interacting atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates

M. K. Olsen, Lev I. Plimak

Published Jan 1, 2004• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We use numerical integration of coupled differential equations in a truncated Wigner representation to show that the initial quantum state of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate plays an important role in the process of Raman photoassociation to form a molecular condensate. Comparing the predictions for different initial quantum states, we find that, even when the stochastic prediction for an initial coherent state is close to the Gross-Pitaevskii prediction, other possible states may result in very different dynamics. The mean-field dynamics can be appreciably different, depending on the initial conditions.

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We use numerical integration of coupled differential equations in a truncated Wigner representation to show that the initial quantum state of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate plays an important role in the process of Raman photoassociation to form a molecular condensate. Comparing the predictions for different initial quantum states, we find that, even when the stochastic prediction for an initial coherent state is close to the Gross-Pitaevskii prediction, other possible states may result in very different dynamics. The mean-field dynamics can be appreciably different, depending on the initial conditions.
We show that the photoassociation of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate to form condensed molecules is a chemical process which not only does not obey the Arrhenius rules for chemical reactions, but that it can also depend on the quantum statistics of the reactants. Comparing the predictions of a truncated Wigner representation for different initial quantum states, we find that, even when the quantum prediction for an initial coherent state is close to the Gross-Pitaevskii prediction, other quantum states may result in very different dynamics.
By stochastic modeling of the process of Raman photoassociation of Bose-Einstein condensates, we show that, the farther the initial quantum state is from a coherent state, the farther the one-dimensional predictions are from those of the commonly used zero-dimensional approach. We compare the dynamics of condensates, initially in different quantum states, finding that, even when the quantum prediction for an initial coherent state is relatively close to the Gross-Pitaevskii prediction, an initial Fock state gives qualitatively different predictions. We also show that this difference is not present in a single-mode type of model, but that the quantum statistics assume a more important role as the dimensionality of the model is increased. This contrasting behavior in different dimensions, well known with critical phenomena in statistical mechanics, makes itself plainly visible here in a mesoscopic system and is a strong demonstration of the need to consider physically realistic models of interacting condensates.
The process of Raman photoassociation of a trapped atomic condensate to form condensed molecules has been labeled superchemistry because it can occur at 0 K and experiences coherent bosonic stimulation. We show here that the differences from ordinary chemical processes go even deeper, with the conversion rates depending on the quantum state of the reactants, as expressed by the Wigner function. We consider different initial quantum states of the trapped atomic condensate and different forms of the confining potentials, demonstrating the importance of the quantum statistics and the extra degrees of freedom which massive particles and trapping potentials make available over the analogous optical process of second-harmonic generation. We show that both mean-field analyses and quantum calculations using an inappropriate initial condition can make inaccurate predictions for a given system. This is possible whether using a spatially dependent analysis or a zero-dimensional approach as commonly used in quantum optics.
We study the dynamics of the atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of 87Rb^{87}\text{R}\text{b}87Rb in a spherically symmetric trap coupled by stimulated Raman photoassociation process. Considering the higher order nonlinearity in the atom-atom interaction we analyze the dynamics of the system using coupled modified Gross-Pitaevskii (MGP) equations and compare it with mean-field coupled Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) dynamics. Considerable differences in the dynamics are obtained in these two approaches at large scattering length, i.e., for large values of peak-gas parameter ${x}_{pk}\ensuremath{\ge}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. We show how the dynamics of the coupled system is affected when the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions are considered together with the atom-atom interaction and also when the strengths of these three interactions are increased. The effect of detuning on the efficiency of conversion of atomic fractions into molecules is demonstrated and the feasibility of maximum molecular BEC formation by varying the Raman detuning parameter at different values of time is explored. Thus by varying the Raman detuning and the scattering length for atom-atom interaction one can control the dynamics of the coupled atomic-molecular BEC system. We have also solved coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations for atomic to molecular condensate formation through magnetic Feshbach resonance in a BEC of 85Rb^{85}\text{R}\text{b}85Rb. We found similar features for oscillations between atomic and molecular condensates noted in previous theoretical study and obtained fairly good agreement with the evolution of total atomic condensate observed experimentally.
We revisit the mean-field treatment of photoassociation and Feshbach resonances in a Bose-Einstein condensate previously used by various authors. Generalizing the Cherny and Shanenko approach [Phys. Rev. E 62, 1646 (2000)] where the finite size of the potentials is explicitly introduced, we develop a two-channel model for a mixed atomic-molecular condensate. Besides the individual dynamics of the condensed and noncondensed atoms, the model also takes into account their pair dynamics by means of pair wave functions. We show that the resulting set of coupled equations can be reduced to the usual coupled Gross-Pitaevski\ifmmode \breve{\imath}\else \u{\i}\fi{} equations when the time scale of the pair dynamics is short compared to that of the individual dynamics. Such time scales are discussed in the case of typical photoassociation experiments with cw lasers. We show that the individual dynamics plays a minor role, demonstrating the validity of the rates predicted by the usual models describing photoassociation in a nondegenerate gas.
Since dilute Bose gas condensates were first experimentally produced, the Gross-Pitaevskii equation has been successfully used as a descriptive tool. As a mean-field equation, it cannot by definition predict anything about the many-body quantum statistics of condensate. We show here that there are a class of dynamical systems where it cannot even make successful predictions about the mean-field behavior, starting with the process of evaporative cooling by which condensates are formed. Among others are parametric processes, such as photoassociation and dissociation of atomic and molecular condensates.