2008/05/31 by T. E. Judd, R. G. Scott, T. M. Fromhold
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atom (system on chip) #Atomic physics #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Computer science #Diffraction #Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides #Optics #Phase (matter) #Physics #Quantum #Quantum many-body systems #Quantum mechanics #Sensitivity (control systems) #Ultracold atom #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.78.053623
published as Phys. Rev. A 78, 053623 (2008) · 5 pages, 4 figures
openalex publication_date 2008/11/17 · arxiv created 2008/11/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We use supercomputer simulations to show that interatomic interactions can strongly affect the phase evolution of Bose-Einstein condensates that are diffracted from atom chips, thereby explaining recent experiments. Interactions broaden and depopulate noncentral diffraction orders and so, counterintuitively, they actually reduce the spatial width of the diffracted cloud. This means that the experiments cannot be fully described by noninteracting theories and, consequently, interferometers that use many interacting atoms to enhance sensitivity require complex calibration. We identify device geometries required to approximate noninteracting behavior.