Department or Program

Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensates present to us the opportunity to probe into the atomic interac- tions that govern a macroscopic quantum mechanical system. The degenerate hyperfine manifold in the bosonic atoms splits in the presence of an external B-field; radio-frequency induced coupling releases experimentally-attainable knowledge about the Zeeman mani- fold in 87Rb. The purpose of this study is to investigate quantum dynamics in two and three-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) systems. We start with a theoretical analysis of Josephson tunneling dynamics between identical BECs trapped in a double potential well, paying particular attention to the non-linear self-trapping effect observed as a consequence of the intra-well interaction. We present a model for the non-equilibrium dynamics in a two-level system and introduce the Rabi oscillations. This is followed by a numerical and experimental investigation of Rabi oscillations in a three-level 87Rb BEC between the F = 1 hyperfine level spin states mF = {1, 0, 1}. The relation between the observed total Rabi frequency and the detuning, along with its effect on the BEC population dynamics is explored. Finally, we explore the possible suspects for the shift of the resonance at strong Rabi frequencies .

Level of Access

Open Access

First Advisor

Lundblad, Nathan

Date of Graduation

Spring 5-2014

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Number of Pages

86

Components of Thesis

1 pdf file

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