Dynamically Slowed Collapse of a Bose-Einstein Condensate with Negative Scattering Length

Published

December 3, 2012

Author(s)

Karina K. Jimenez Garcia, Robert L. Compton, Yu-Ju Lin, James V. Porto, Ian B. Spielman

Abstract

We rapidly change the scattering length a_s of a ^{87}Rb Bose-Einstein condensate by means of a Feshbach resonance, simultaneously releasing the condensate from its harmonic trapping potential. When a_s is changed from positive to negative, the subsequent collapse of the condensate is stabilized by the kinetic energy imparted during the release, resulting in a deceleration of the loss rate near the resonance. We also observe an increase in the Thomas-Fermi radius, near the resonance, that cannot be understood in terms of a simple scaling model. Instead, we describe this behavior using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, including three-body recombination, and hypothesize that the increase in cloud radius is due to the formation of concentric shells.

Citation

Physical Review A

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

dynamical instability, Feshbach resonances, Ultracold atoms

Citation

Jimenez, K. , Compton, R. , Lin, Y. , Porto, J. and Spielman, I. (2012), Dynamically Slowed Collapse of a Bose-Einstein Condensate with Negative Scattering Length, Physical Review A, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.063601 (Accessed October 21, 2025)