Evidence of an Internally Generated Optical-Dipole Potential in Matter-Wave Superradiance

TL;DR

This paper provides experimental evidence that an optical-dipole potential influences matter-wave superradiance by altering the system's structure factor, affecting scattering behavior in condensates.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first experimental verification of the role of an internally generated optical-dipole potential in matter-wave superradiance.

Findings

Optical-dipole potential modifies the structure factor of the condensate.

Detuning-dependent effects significantly impact superradiant scattering.

Experimental verification of the influence of the optical-dipole potential.

Abstract

We present the first experimental evidence supporting the postulation that an optical-dipole potential in a condensate undergoing superradiant scattering modifies the structure factor of the system and significantly impacts the scattering. Several consequences of this new detuning-dependent mechanism are discussed and verified experimentally. Our experiments indicate that whenever the generation and propagation growth of a new field are significant, the dynamic response of the condensate can have a profound impact on the scattering process.