Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 140406 (2004) [4 pages]Observation of Dynamical Instability for a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a Moving 1D Optical LatticeReceived 2 April 2004; published 29 September 2004 We have experimentally studied the unstable dynamics of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a 1D moving optical lattice. The lifetime of the condensate in such a potential exhibits a dramatic dependence on the quasimomentum state. This is unambiguously attributed to the onset of dynamical instability, after a comparison with the predictions of the Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Deeply in the unstable region we observe the rapid appearance of complex structures in the atomic density profile, as a consequence of the condensate phase uniformity breakdown. © 2004 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.140406
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.140406
PACS:
03.75.Kk, 03.75.Lm, 05.45.–a, 32.80.Pj
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.