• Open Access

Observation of Microcanonical Atom Number Fluctuations in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

M. B. Christensen, T. Vibel, A. J. Hilliard, M. B. Kruk, K. Pawłowski, D. Hryniuk, K. Rzążewski, M. A. Kristensen, and J. J. Arlt
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 153601 – Published 12 April 2021
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Quantum systems are typically characterized by the inherent fluctuation of their physical observables. Despite this fundamental importance, the investigation of the fluctuations in interacting quantum systems at finite temperature continues to pose considerable theoretical and experimental challenges. Here we report the characterization of atom number fluctuations in weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates. Technical fluctuations are mitigated through a combination of nondestructive detection and active stabilization of the cooling sequence. We observe fluctuations reduced by 27% below the canonical expectation for a noninteracting gas, revealing the microcanonical nature of our system. The peak fluctuations have near linear scaling with atom number ΔN0,p2N1.134 in an experimentally accessible transition region outside the thermodynamic limit. Our experimental results thus set a benchmark for theoretical calculations under typical experimental conditions.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 24 November 2020
  • Accepted 11 March 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.153601

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & OpticalQuantum Information, Science & TechnologyStatistical Physics & Thermodynamics

Authors & Affiliations

M. B. Christensen1, T. Vibel1, A. J. Hilliard1, M. B. Kruk2,3, K. Pawłowski2, D. Hryniuk2, K. Rzążewski2, M. A. Kristensen1, and J. J. Arlt1

  • 1Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
  • 2Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
  • 3Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland

Article Text

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 126, Iss. 15 — 16 April 2021

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×