2009/02/18 by Yingmei Liu, Sebastian Jung, Stephen E. Maxwell +6 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.102.125301
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 102,125301 (2009) · Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters
arxiv created 2009/02/18 · openalex publication_date 2009/03/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Condensates of spin-1 sodium display rich spin dynamics due to the antiferromagnetic nature of the interactions in this system. We use Faraday rotation spectroscopy to make a continuous and minimally destructive measurement of the dynamics over multiple spin oscillations on a single evolving condensate. This method provides a sharp signature to locate a magnetically tuned separatrix in phase space which depends on the net magnetization. We also observe a phase transition from a two- to a three-component condensate at a low but finite temperature using a Stern-Gerlach imaging technique. This transition should be preserved as a zero-temperature quantum phase transition.