2012/09/03 by Jinling Lian, Yuanwei Zhang, J. -Q. Liang +4
Physics and Astronomy · #Atom (system on chip) #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Condensed matter physics #Critical point (mathematics) #Entropy (arrow of time) #Heat capacity #Phase (matter) #Phase transition #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum #Quantum critical point #Quantum mechanics #Quantum phase transition #Spin–orbit interaction #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #Thermodynamics #cond-mat.quant-gas #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.86.063620
8 pages, 6 figures
arxiv created 2012/09/03 · openalex publication_date 2012/12/17 · arxiv updated 2015/06/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In this paper we develop a quantum field approach to reveal the thermodynamic properties of the Bose-Einstein condensate with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. In the experimentally feasible regime, the phase transition from the separate phase to the single-minimum phase can be driven well by the tunable temperature. Moreover, the critical temperature, which is independent of the trap frequency, can be derived exactly. At the critical point, the specific heat has a large jump and can be thus regarded as a promising candidate to detect this temperature-driven phase transition. In addition, we obtain the analytical expressions for the specific heat and the entropy in the different phases. In the single-minimum phase, the specific heat and the entropy are governed only by the Rabi frequency. However, in the separate phase with lower temperature, we find that they are determined only by the strength of the spin-orbit coupling. Finally, the effect of the effective atom interaction is also addressed. In the separate phase, this effective atom interaction affects dramatically the thermodynamic properties, including the critical temperature.