Quantum dynamics with spatiotemporal control of interactions in a stable Bose-Einstein condensate

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel optical control scheme for atomic interactions in Bose-Einstein condensates, enabling long lifetimes and exploration of new quantum dynamics such as molecule formation and condensate collapse.

Contribution

The authors develop a generic optical control method for Feshbach resonances that overcomes previous limitations, allowing detailed study of quantum gas dynamics.

Findings

Long condensate lifetimes achieved

Observation of van der Waals molecule formation

Partial collapse of Bose condensate observed

Abstract

Optical control of atomic interactions in a quantum gas is a long-sought goal of cold atom research. Previous experiments have been hindered by short lifetimes and parasitic deformation of the trap potential. Here, we develop and implement a generic scheme for optical control of Feshbach resonance in quantum gases, which yields long condensate lifetimes sufficient to study equilibrium and non-equilibrium physics with negligible parasitic dipole force. We show that fast and local control of interactions leads to intriguing quantum dynamics in new regimes, highlighted by the formation of van der Waals molecules and partial collapse of a Bose condensate.