Tunneling electro-conductance of atomic Bose condensates

TL;DR

This paper models how electrons tunnel through atomic Bose condensates, revealing quantum fluctuation effects that suppress tunneling and proposing an exactly solvable analytical framework for understanding this phenomenon.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical model that incorporates inelastic quantum transitions in Bose condensates, extending standard field theory approaches to this context.

Findings

Quantum fluctuations suppress electron tunneling in Bose condensates.

An exactly solvable model for electron-condensate interactions is developed.

Potential experimental observations of tunneling suppression are discussed.

Abstract

We consider interaction of an electron with a Bose condensate of atoms having electron affinity. Though states of the electron attached to atoms form a continuous band, tunneling through this band is strongly suppressed by quantum fluctuations of the condensate density. We adapt standard field theory methods originally developed for description of a particle propagating trough a disordered potential and present an exactly soluble analytical model of the process. In contrast with the standard description, we take into account inelastic processes associated with quantum transitions in the condensate. Possibilities of the experimental observation of the phenomenon are discussed.