Pattern Formation in Mixtures of Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices

M. M. Maśka, R. Lemański, J. K. Freericks, and C. J. Williams
Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 060404 – Published 7 August 2008

Abstract

Regular pattern formation is ubiquitous in nature; it occurs in biological, physical, and materials science systems. Here we propose a set of experiments with ultracold atoms that show how to examine different types of pattern formation. In particular, we show how one can see the analog of labyrinthine patterns (so-called quantum emulsions) in mixtures of light and heavy atoms (that tend to phase separate) by tuning the trap potential and we show how complex geometrically ordered patterns emerge (when the mixtures do not phase separate), which could be employed for low-temperature thermometry. The complex physical mechanisms for the pattern formation at zero temperature are understood within a theoretical analysis called the local density approximation.

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  • Received 26 February 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.060404

Authors & Affiliations

M. M. Maśka

  • Department of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, 40-007 Katowice, Poland

R. Lemański

  • Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Science, 50-422 Wrocław, Poland

J. K. Freericks

  • Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA

C. J. Williams

  • Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8420, USA

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Vol. 101, Iss. 6 — 8 August 2008

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