2023/10/06 by Alexander Herbst, Herbst, Alexander, Timothé Estrampes +17 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2310.04383
openalex publication_date 2023/10/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The sensitivity of atom interferometers depends on their ability to realize long pulse separation times and prevent loss of contrast by limiting the expansion of the atomic ensemble within the interferometer beam through matter-wave collimation. Here we investigate the impact of atomic interactions on collimation by applying a lensing protocol to a 39K Bose-Einstein condensate at different scattering lengths. Tailoring interactions, we measure energies corresponding to 340 ± 12 pK in one direction. Our results are supported by an accurate simulation, which allows us to extrapolate a 2D ballistic expansion energy of 438 ± 77 pK. Based on our findings we propose an advanced scenario, which enables 3D expansion energies below 16 pK by implementing an additional pulsed delta-kick. Our results pave the way to realize ensembles with more than 1×105 atoms and 3D energies in the two-digit pK range in typical dipole trap setups without the need for micro-gravity or long baseline environments.