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arXiv:cond-mat/0404045 · Physical Review Letters

Observation of Dynamical Instability for a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a Moving 1D Optical Lattice

L. Fallani, L. De Sarlo, Jessica Lye, Michele Modugno, Robert Saers, C. Fort, M. Inguscio

Published Sep 29, 2004• 322 citations
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Abstract

We have experimentally studied the unstable dynamics of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a 1D moving optical lattice. The lifetime of the condensate in such a potential exhibits a dramatic dependence on the quasimomentum state. This is unambiguously attributed to the onset of dynamical instability, after a comparison with the predictions of the Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Deeply in the unstable region we observe the rapid appearance of complex structures in the atomic density profile, as a consequence of the condensate phase uniformity breakdown.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.93.140406

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We have experimentally studied the unstable dynamics of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a 1D moving optical lattice. The lifetime of the condensate in such a potential exhibits a dramatic dependence on the quasimomentum state. This is unambiguously attributed to the onset of dynamical instability, after a comparison with the predictions of the Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Deeply in the unstable region we observe the rapid appearance of complex structures in the atomic density profile, as a consequence of the condensate phase uniformity breakdown.
We present the results of experimental work on the dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) loaded in a 1D moving optical lattice. The system is studied both in the regime of low atomic density (expanding BEC) and high atomic density (trapped BEC). In the low-density regime, the stable dynamics of the system is well-described in terms of Bloch waves. In the presence of nonlinearities, as in a high-density sample, the Bloch waves are not stable solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and dynamical instability takes place.
We report on the experimental characterization of energetic and dynamical instability, two mechanisms responsible for the breakdown of Bloch waves in a Bose-Einstein condensate interacting with a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice. A clear separation of these two regimes is obtained by performing measurements at different temperatures of the atomic sample. The time scales of the two processes have been determined by measuring the losses induced in the condensate. A simple phenomenological model is introduced for energetic instability while a full comparison is made between the experiment and the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii theory that accounts for dynamical instability.
[[abstract]]We study the instabilities, Landau and dynamical instabilities, that are two mechanisms responsible for the breakdown of superfluidity in Bose-Einstein condensates interacting with a one-dimensional optical lattice. An effective-mass Gross-Pitaevskii equation was used to calculate the excitation spectrum and the condensate density of Bose-Einstein condensates in a weak periodic potential. After the condensate velocities greater than the speed of sound, we observe a decreasing of the condensate density, which is the onset of Landau instability. The condensate is dissipated, but not completely, from colliding with the thermal atom cloud. For even higher velocities of the condensate, we find a fast decreasing of the condensate density until full removal of the condensate. The regime of totally removing of the condensate is happened at the inverse effective mass of the condensate becoming zero or negative, where the condensate is on the dynamical instability.
We investigate the phase coherence of a trapped Bose–Einstein condensate that undergoes a dynamical superfluid–insulator transition in the presence of a one-dimensional optical lattice. We study the evolution of the condensate after a sudden displacement of the harmonic trapping potential by solving the Gross–Pitaevskii equation, and comparing the results with the prediction of two effective 1D models. We show that, owing to the 3D nature of the system, the breakdown of the superfluid current above a critical displacement is not associated with a sharp transition, but there exists a range of displacements for which the condensate can recover a certain degree of coherence. We also discuss the implications on the interference pattern after the ballistic expansion as measured in recent experiments at LENS.
We report experimental results on the dynamics and phase evolution of Bose-Einstein condensates in 1D optical lattices. The dynamical behaviour is studied by adiabatically loading the condensate into the lattice and subsequently switching off the magnetic trap. In this case, the condensate is free to expand inside the periodic structure of the optical lattice. The phase evolution of the condensate, on the other hand, can be studied by non-adiabatically switching on the periodic potential. We observe decays and revivals of the interference pattern after a time-of-flight.
We study the dynamics of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate where the two components are coupled via an optical lattice. In particular, we focus on the dynamics as one drives the system through a critical point of a first-order phase transition characterized by a jump in the internal populations. Solving the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we analyze the breakdown of adiabaticity, impact of nonlinear atom-atom scattering, and role of a harmonic trapping potential. Our findings demonstrate that the phase transition is resilient to both contact interaction between atoms and external trapping confinement.