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Non-Self-Similar Modes of Vibration of a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Published

Author(s)

M Brewczyk, Charles W. Clark, M Lewenstein, K Rzazewski

Abstract

A hydrodynamical version of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation is used to describe driven vibrations of a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms in a magnetic trap. If the trap frequency is suddenly decreased, and later is suddenly returned to its initial value, the response of the condensate departs from the self-similar character that is obtained in the Thomas-Fermi approach. We show that the self-similar Thomas-Fermi modes are in fact unstable. Thus, the quantum pressure term in the hydrodynamic equations of motion can play a significant role in condensate excitation dynamics, even when its effect on ground-state properties is negligible.
Citation
Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
Volume
32

Keywords

Bose-Einstein condensation, collective excitations, Gross-Pitaevskii equation, hydrodynamics, Thomas-Fermi approximation, trapped atoms

Citation

Brewczyk, M. , Clark, C. , Lewenstein, M. and Rzazewski, K. (1999), Non-Self-Similar Modes of Vibration of a Bose-Einstein Condensate, Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics (Accessed October 2, 2025)

Issues

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Created August 31, 1999, Updated October 12, 2021
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