Manipulation of a Bose-Einstein condensate by a time-averaged orbiting potential using phase jumps of the rotating field

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how phase jumps in a rotating magnetic field can control and suppress the sloshing motion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a time-averaged orbiting potential trap, combining theory and experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate condensate motion via phase jumps in the TOP trap, providing new control techniques for quantum gases.

Findings

Sloshing amplitude exceeds micromotion when switching to TOP trap.

Sloshing direction depends on initial phase of the rotating field.

Phase jumps can effectively quench sloshing motion.

Abstract

We report on the manipulation of the center-of-mass motion (`sloshing') of a Bose Einstein condensate in a time-averaged orbiting potential (TOP) trap. We start with a condensate at rest in the center of a static trapping potential. When suddenly replacing the static trap with a TOP trap centered about the same position, the condensate starts to slosh with an amplitude much larger than the TOP micromotion. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that the direction of sloshing is related to the initial phase of the rotating magnetic field of the TOP. We show further that the sloshing can be quenched by applying a carefully timed and sized jump in the phase of the rotating field.