Ultracold quantum matter

Abstract:

We manipulate a Bose-Einstein condensate using the optical trap created by the diffraction of a laser beam on a fast ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The modulator acts as a phase grating which can generate arbitrary diffraction patterns and be rapidly reconfigured at rates up to 1 kHz to create smooth, time-varying optical potentials. The flexibility of the device is demonstrated with our experimental results for splitting a Bose-Einstein condensate and independently transporting the separate parts of the atomic cloud. © 2006 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We investigated the tunnelling dynamics of a zero-temperature Bose-Einstein condensate in configuration of four potential wells arranged in a loop. We found three interesting dynamic regimes: (a) flows of matter with small amplitude, (b) steady flow, and (c) forced flow of matter for large amplitudes. The regime of quantum self-confinement has been studied and a new variant of it has been found for this system. © 2006 The American Physical Society.