Publication Title
npj Microgravity
Document Type
Article
Department or Program
Physics and Astronomy
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
Extending the understanding of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) physics to new geometries and topologies has a long and varied history in ultracold atomic physics. One such new geometry is that of a bubble, where a condensate would be confined to the surface of an ellipsoidal shell. Study of this geometry would give insight into new collective modes, self-interference effects, topology-dependent vortex behavior, dimensionality crossovers from thick to thin shells, and the properties of condensates pushed into the ultradilute limit. Here we discuss a proposal to implement a realistic experimental framework for generating shell-geometry BEC using radiofrequency dressing of magnetically-trapped samples. Such a tantalizing state of matter is inaccessible terrestrially due to the distorting effect of gravity on experimentally-feasible shell potentials. The debut of an orbital BEC machine (NASA Cold Atom Laboratory, aboard the International Space Station) has enabled the operation of quantum-gas experiments in a regime of perpetual freefall, and thus has permitted the planning of microgravity shell-geometry BEC experiments. We discuss specific experimental configurations, applicable inhomogeneities and other experimental challenges, and outline potential experiments.
Recommended Citation
Lundblad, N., Carollo, R.A., Lannert, C., Gold, M.J. , Jiang, X., Paseltiner, D., Sergay, N., and Aveline D.C. (2019) Shell potentials for microgravity Bose-Einstein condensates. npj Microgravity 5(30). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-019-0087-y
Copyright Note
This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Bates College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Required Publisher's Statement
Original version is available from the publisher at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-019-0087-y