Spontaneous emission of atoms via collisions of Bose-Einstein condensates

Radka Bach, Marek Trippenbach, and Kazimierz Rza̧żewski
Phys. Rev. A 65, 063605 – Published 30 May 2002
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Abstract

The widely used Gross-Pitaevskii equation treats only coherent aspects of the evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate. However, inevitably some atoms scatter out of the condensate. We have developed a method, based on the field theory formulation, describing the dynamics of incoherent processes which are due to elastic collisions. We can therefore treat processes of spontaneous emission of atoms into the empty modes, as opposed to stimulated processes, which require nonzero initial occupation. In this paper we study two counterpropagating plane waves of atoms, calculating the full dynamics of mode occupation, as well as the statistics of scattered atoms. The more realistic case of Gaussian wave packets is also analyzed.

  • Received 5 July 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.65.063605

©2002 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Radka Bach1, Marek Trippenbach2, and Kazimierz Rza̧żewski1

  • 1Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
  • 2Institute of Experimental Physics, Optics Division, Warsaw University, 69 Hoża Street, 00-681 Warsaw, Poland

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Vol. 65, Iss. 6 — June 2002

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