Interaction of a Bose-Einstein Condensate and a Superconductor via Eddy Currents

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic dipoles in a Bose-Einstein condensate near a superconductor induce eddy currents, affecting the condensate's oscillations and enabling resonant coupling between the two systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel physical mechanism for coupling Bose-Einstein condensates with superconductors via eddy currents, highlighting potential for resonant interactions.

Findings

Eddy currents in the superconductor shift the BEC's oscillation frequency.

Anharmonic coupling enables resonant interaction with collective modes.

Significant effects observed for certain atomic species in superconducting microtraps.

Abstract

We study center-of-mass oscillations of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in the vicinity of a superconducting surface. We show that the magnetic field of the magnetic dipoles induces eddy currents in the superconductor, which act back on the Bose-Einstein condensate. This leads to a shift of its oscillation frequency and to an anharmonic coupling of the Bose-Einstein condensate with the superconductor. The anharmonicity creates a coupling to one of the collective modes of the condensate that can be resonantly enhanced, if the parameters of the condensate are chosen properly. This provides a new physical mechanism to couple a Bose-Einstein condensate and a superconductor which becomes significant for 52Cr, 168Er or 164Dy condensates in superconducting mircotraps.