2005/08/09 by J. K. Asboth, János K. Asbóth, P. Domokos +4 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.72.053417
published as Phys. Rev. A 72, 05341 (2005) · submitted to PRA
arxiv created 2005/08/09 · openalex publication_date 2005/11/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We present a detailed study of the spatial self-organization of laser-driven atoms in an optical cavity, an effect predicted on the basis of numerical simulations [P. Domokos and H. Ritsch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 253003 (2002)] and observed experimentally [A. T. Black et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 203001 (2003)]. Above a threshold in the driving laser intensity, from a uniform distribution the atoms evolve into one of two stable patterns that produce superradiant scattering into the cavity. We derive analytic formulas for the threshold and critical exponent of this phase transition from a mean-field approach. Numerical simulations of the microscopic dynamics reveal that, on a laboratory time scale, a hysteresis masks the mean-field behavior. Simple physical arguments explain this phenomenon and provide analytical expressions for the observable threshold. Above a certain density of the atoms a limited number of ``defects'' appear in the organized phase and influence the statistical properties of the system. The scaling of the cavity cooling mechanism and the phase-space density with the atom number is also studied.