2006/11/30 by D. Nagy, Dávid Nagy, P. Domokos
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Frequency and Time Standards #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #physics.atom-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.75.053416
8 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2007/03/06 · openalex publication_date 2007/05/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The effect of the dipole-dipole interaction on the far-off-resonance optical dipole trapping scheme is calculated by a mean-field approach. The trapping laser field polarizes the atoms and the accompanying dipole-dipole energy shift deepens the attractive potential minimum in a pancake-shaped cloud. At high density the thermal motion cannot stabilize the gas against self-contraction and an instability occurs. We calculate the boundary of the stable and unstable equilibrium regions on a two-dimensional phase diagram of the atom number and the ratio of the trap depth to the temperature. We discuss the limitations imposed by the dipole-dipole instability on the parameters needed to reach Bose-Einstein condensation in an optical dipole trap.