Delocalization of ultracold atoms in a disordered potential due to light scattering

Boris Nowak, Jami J. Kinnunen, Murray J. Holland, and Peter Schlagheck
Phys. Rev. A 86, 043610 – Published 9 October 2012

Abstract

We numerically study the expansion dynamics of ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional disordered potential in the presence of a weak position measurement of the atoms. We specifically consider this position measurement to be realized by a combination of an external laser and a periodic array of optical microcavities along a waveguide. The position information is acquired through the scattering of a near-resonant laser photon into a specific eigenmode of one of the cavities. The time evolution of the atomic density in the presence of this light-scattering mechanism is described within a Lindblad master equation approach, which is numerically implemented using the Monte Carlo wave function technique. We find that an arbitrarily weak rate of photon emission leads to a breakdown of Anderson localization of the atoms.

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  • Received 22 June 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.043610

©2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Boris Nowak1,2, Jami J. Kinnunen3, Murray J. Holland4, and Peter Schlagheck5

  • 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2ExtreMe Matter Institute (EMMI), GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany
  • 3Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University School of Science, Post Office Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
  • 4JILA, NIST, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA
  • 5Département de Physique, Université de Liège, allée du 6 Août 17, 4000 Liège, Belgium

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Vol. 86, Iss. 4 — October 2012

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