Abstract
An asymmetric atom trap is investigated as a means to implement a “battery” that supplies ultracold atoms to an atomtronic circuit. The battery model is derived from a scheme for continuous loading of a nondissipative atom trap proposed by Roos et al. [C. F. Roos, P. Cren, D. Guery-Odelin, and J. Dalibard, Europhys. Lett. 61, 187 (2003)]. The trap is defined by longitudinal and transverse trap frequencies and and corresponding trap energy heights and . The battery's ability to supply power to a load is evaluated as a function of an input atom flux and power, and , respectively, where is an excess fractional energy. For given trap parameters, the battery is shown to have a resonantly optimum value of . The battery behavior can be cast in terms of an equivalent circuit model; specifically, for fixed input flux and power the battery is modeled in terms of a Thévenin equivalent chemical potential and internal resistance. The internal resistance establishes the maximum power that can be supplied to a circuit, the heat that will be generated by the battery, and the noise that will be imposed on the circuit. We argue that any means of implementing a battery for atomtronics can be represented by a Thévenin equivalent and that its performance will likewise be determined by an internal resistance.
13 More- Received 8 August 2013
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.88.043641
©2013 American Physical Society