Abstract
We predict a new kind of instability in a Bose-Einstein condensate composed of dipolar particles. Namely, a comparatively weak dipole moment can produce a large, negative two-body scattering length that can collapse the Bose-Einstein condensate. To verify this effect, we validate mean-field solutions to this problem using exact, diffusion Monte Carlo methods. We show that the diffusion Monte Carlo energies are reproduced accurately within a mean-field framework if the variation of the -wave scattering length with the dipole strength is accounted for properly.
- Received 18 April 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.160402
©2006 American Physical Society