Dipolar Quantum Gases group

Abstract:

By quenching the strength of interactions in a partially condensed Bose gas, we create a "supersaturated" vapor which has more thermal atoms than it can contain in equilibrium. Subsequently, the number of condensed atoms (N(0)) grows even though the temperature (T) rises and the total atom number decays. We show that the nonequilibrium evolution of the system is isoenergetic and, for small initial N(0), observe a clear separation between T and N(0) dynamics, thus explicitly demonstrating the theoretically expected "two-step" picture of condensate growth. For increasing initial N(0) values, we observe a crossover to classical relaxation dynamics. The size of the observed quench-induced effects can be explained using a simple equation of state for an interacting harmonically trapped atomic gas.

Abstract:

The intermetallic compound CeGe exhibits unusual magnetic behavior due to the interplay between the Kondo and the antiferromagnetic coupling. This particular system is interesting because the Kondo temperature is close to the Néel temperature, resulting in a close competition between the low-temperature interactions, which can be tuned by means of varying external parameters such as pressure and applied magnetic field. Interestingly, magnetization measurements up to 12 kbar reveal that the Néel temperature is not affected by pressure. Measurements of the electrical resistivity, however, show that the sharp upturn appearing below T N is sensitive to pressures up to 15 kbar. This suggests that pressure may change the complex antiferromagnetic spin structure. The validity of an explanation based on the magnetic superzones seen in the rare earths is discussed here. © C.R.S. Haines, N. Marcano, R.P. Smith, I. Aviani, J.I. Espeso, J.C. Gómez Sal, and S.S. Saxena, 2012.