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Collapse and revival of the matter wave field of a Bose–Einstein condensate

Author

Listed:
  • Markus Greiner

    (Schellingstrasse 4/III
    Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik)

  • Olaf Mandel

    (Schellingstrasse 4/III
    Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik)

  • Theodor W. Hänsch

    (Schellingstrasse 4/III
    Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik)

  • Immanuel Bloch

    (Schellingstrasse 4/III
    Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik)

Abstract

A Bose–Einstein condensate represents the most ‘classical’ form of a matter wave, just as an optical laser emits the most classical form of an electromagnetic wave. Nevertheless, the matter wave field has a quantized structure owing to the granularity of the discrete underlying atoms. Although such a field is usually assumed to be intrinsically stable (apart from incoherent loss processes), this is no longer true when the condensate is in a coherent superposition of different atom number states1,2,3,4,5,6. For example, in a Bose–Einstein condensate confined by a three-dimensional optical lattice, each potential well can be prepared in a coherent superposition of different atom number states, with constant relative phases between neighbouring lattice sites. It is then natural to ask how the individual matter wave fields and their relative phases evolve. Here we use such a set-up to investigate these questions experimentally, observing that the matter wave field of the Bose–Einstein condensate undergoes a periodic series of collapses and revivals; this behaviour is directly demonstrated in the dynamical evolution of the multiple matter wave interference pattern. We attribute the oscillations to the quantized structure of the matter wave field and the collisions between individual atoms.

Suggested Citation

  • Markus Greiner & Olaf Mandel & Theodor W. Hänsch & Immanuel Bloch, 2002. "Collapse and revival of the matter wave field of a Bose–Einstein condensate," Nature, Nature, vol. 419(6902), pages 51-54, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:419:y:2002:i:6902:d:10.1038_nature00968
    DOI: 10.1038/nature00968
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferenc Iglói & Csaba Zoltán Király, 2024. "Entanglement detection in postquench nonequilibrium states: thermal Gibbs vs. generalized Gibbs ensemble," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 97(6), pages 1-12, June.

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