We describe the first experiments that study in a controlled way the dynamics of distinguishable and interpenetrating bosonic quantum fluids. We work with a two-component system of Bose-Einstein condensates in the $|{F\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1,m}_{f}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}\ensuremath{-}1〉$ and $|2,1〉$ spin states of ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$. The two condensates are created with complete spatial overlap, and in subsequent evolution they undergo complex relative motions that tend to preserve the total density profile. The motions quickly damp out, leaving the condensates in a steady state with a non-negligible (and adjustable) overlap region.
We describe the first experiments that study in a controlled way the dynamics of distinguishable and interpenetrating bosonic quantum fluids. We work with a two-component system of Bose-Einstein condensates in the ∣F=1,mf=\ensuremath−1〉 and ∣2,1〉 spin states of 87Rb. The two condensates are created with complete spatial overlap, and in subsequent evolution they undergo complex relative motions that tend to preserve the total density profile. The motions quickly damp out, leaving the condensates in a steady state with a non-negligible (and adjustable) overlap region.
In this Thesis we study steady state solutions and dynamical evolutions of two– component atomic Bose–Einstein Condensates. We initially investigate the equilibrium properties of condensate mixtures in harmonic trapping potentials at zero temperature. Subsequently we simulate the coupled growth of these condensates by inclusion of damping terms. Finally, we investigate the evolution of coupled Bose gases via the so-called classical–field method. A recent experiment [D. J. McCarron et al., Phys. Rev. A, 84, 011603(R) (2011)] achieved Bose–Einstein Condensation of a two–species 87Rb–133Cs phase segregated mixture in harmonic trapping potentials. Depending on relative atom numbers of the two species, three distinct regimes of density distributions were observed. For these experimental parameters, we investigate the corresponding time–independent ground state solutions through numerical simulations of the coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations. By including experimentally relevant shifts between the traps, we observe a range of structures including ‘ball and shell’ formations and axially/radially separated states. These are found to be very sensitive to the trap shifts. For all three experimental regimes, our numerical simulations reveal good qualitative agreement. The observed experimental profiles cannot be guaranteed to be fully equilibrated. This, coupled with the rapid sympathetic cooling of the experimental system, leads to a situation where growth may play a determining factor in the density structures formed. To investigate this further, we introduce phenomenological damping to describe the associated condensate growth/decay, revealing a range of transient structures. However, such a model always predicts the predominance of one condensate species over longer evolution times. Work undertaken by collaborators with the more elaborate Stochastic Projected Gross–Pitaevskii equations, which can describe condensate formation by coupling to a heat bath, predicts the spontaneous formation of dark–bright solitons. Motivated by this, we show how the presence of solitons can affect the condensate distribution, thus highlighting the overall dynamical role in the emerging patterns. Finally, we use classical field methods to analyse the evolution of non trapped Bose gases from strongly nonequilibrium initial distributions. The contrast between miscible (overlapping) and immiscible (phase segregated) components gives rise to important distinctions for condensate fractions and the formation of domains and vortices. In addition, splitting the particles of a single component thermalised state into two components is investigated. We then study the effects of suddenly quenching the strength of the interspecies interactions. Under suitable conditions, this quench generates isotropic vortex tangles. While this tangle subsequently decays over time, we propose how a repeat sequence of quenches at regular intervals could be employed to drive the tangle, thereby potentially providing a novel route to the generation of quantum turbulence.
In the years following the first Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute atomic gases in 1995, several experiments demonstrated many fundamental properties of two-component BEC. Subsequent to these pioneering experiments, almost a decade passed with little experimental activity, relative to investigations of single-component condensates. In somewhat of a renaissance, the initial observations of two-component BEC have been revisited in recent years, consolidating and clarifying results of the early works, and illuminating new and surprising behaviour of these rich quantum fluids. This thesis presents new experimental results on the relative phase evolution of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). We approach our study of this system from the dual perspective of binary superfluidity and trapped atom interferometry. We observe nonequilibrium dynamics of the condensate that are deeply connected to the physics of interpenetrating superfluids. These dynamics have consequences for interferometers whose two paths are different internal spin states of the condensate atoms. Using trapped condensates for precision measurement draws upon the benefits of confined atom interferometry - long interrogation times, precise position control to measure near-field potentials - in addition to the unique coherence properties of BECs. Precision measurementwith trapped particles, however, is obstructed by the inherent inhomogeneities associated with the confinement itself. Spatial variation of the external potentials and atomic density can give rise to dephasing during the free evolution and imperfect splitting and recombination of the interferometric paths. In this thesis, we consider the dephasing of the two-componentmean field order parameter, which tends to diminish the interference signal attained with the condensate. The promise of fuhs for atom interferometry lies within using nonclassical many body states to reduce the fundamental noise limit imposed upon measuring the projection of atomic pseudospin. Before the many body quantum properties of two-component condensates can be used to their full potential, the ideal classical limit must be achieved and investigated. As in optical interferometry, the classical ideality of an interference measurement is contingent upon control of the spatialmodes - thematter wave fields, or single particle wave functions. Whilst much attention is currently focused on preparing nonclassical many body states for entanglement and squeezing of the condensate pseudospin, this thesis focuses on the ancillary yet important issue of spatial inhomogeneity of the condensate mean field. Reversal of the spatially inhomogeneous mean field evolution is demonstrated, employing the techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance. A new method is demonstrated to probe pseudospin -1/2 condensates involving microwave adiabatic passage. The technique permits simultaneous, spatially resolved absorption imaging of the spatial mode of each component. Controlled manipulation of the components into Zeeman states with different magnetic moments allows spatial separation using a Stern-Gerlach separation technique, providing a spatially resolved projection of the local condensate pseudospin from a single absorption image. We propose an interferometric technique which employs this imaging method to directly image the relative phase. The miscibility of the two components depends on the relative magnitude of the interactions between various collision partners. The boundary of this miscibility is found to be less pronounced than expected from the commonly applied results of homogeneous super-fluids.The effects of kinetic energy are shown to be significant at the threshold of miscibility, leading to a breakdown in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. Magnetic dipole transitions amongst alkali ground states are often used to prepare, manipulate, and interrogate pseudospin -1/2 condensates. We present a thorough investigation of the two-photonmagnetic dipole transitions between the |F = 1,mF = -1〉 and |F = 2,mF = +1〉 states, and the |F = 1,mF = +1〉 and |F = 2,mF = -1〉 states of 87Rb. Taking into account all 8 Zeeman levels of the electronic ground state reveals markedly different radiative shifts and effects beyond the rotating wave approximation, compared to the three-level formalism commonly used for these transitions.This has implications for Ramsey interferometry using the two-photon magnetic dipole transitions. The unchartered experimental territory offered by two-component condensates is vast, and future directions, supplementary to the work in this thesis, are elucidated.
The spin dynamics of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensed binary mixture of sodium atoms is experimentally investigated at finite temperature. In the collisional regime the motion of the thermal component is shown to be damped because of spin drag, while the two condensates exhibit a counterflow oscillation without friction, thereby providing direct evidence for spin superfluidity. Results are also reported in the collisionless regime where the spin components of both the condensate and thermal part oscillate without damping, their relative motion being driven by a mean-field effect. We also measure the static polarizability of the condensed and thermal parts and we find a large increase of the condensate polarizability with respect to the T=0 value, in agreement with the predictions of theory.
We study the interactions between two atomic species in a binary Bose-Einstein condensate to revisit the conditions for miscibility, oscillatory dynamics between the species, steady-state solutions, and their stability. By employing a variational approach for a quasi-one-dimensional, two-atomic species condensate, we obtain equations of motion for the parameters of each species: amplitude, width, position, and phase. A further simplification leads to a reduction of the dynamics into a simple classical Newtonian system where components oscillate in an effective potential with a frequency that depends on the harmonic trap strength and the interspecies coupling parameter. We develop explicit conditions for miscibility that can be interpreted as a phase diagram that depends on the harmonic trap's strength and the interspecies coupling parameter. We numerically illustrate the bifurcation scenario whereby nontopological, phase-separated states of increasing complexity emerge out of a symmetric state as the interspecies coupling is increased. The symmetry-breaking dynamical evolution of some of these states is numerically monitored and the associated asymmetric states are also explored.
The phase separation and vortex states in two-component Bose-Einstein condensate consisting of |F = 1,mf = −1> and |2,1> internal spin states of 87Rb atoms are considered in the framework of Thomas-Fermi approximation. It is shown that in nonrotating system the atoms in the state |1, −1> form a shell about the atoms in the state |2,1>. The critical angular velocity for each state is calculated. These velocities depend drastically on the relative concentrations of the components, the critical angular velocity of the outer component being less than the angular velocity of the inner one. It is shown that the atoms in the |1, −1> state can form a rotating ring about the resting core of the atoms in the state |2,1>. PACS:03.75.Fi; 05.30.Jp; 32.80.Pj. The realization of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) in dilute atomic gases offers new opportunities for studying quantum degenerate fluids [1]. These condensates, which contain thousands of atoms confined to microscale clouds, have similarities to superfluidity and laser,