Transport dynamics of ultracold atoms in a triple-well transistor-like potential

TL;DR

This paper experimentally investigates atom transport in a triple-well potential resembling a transistor, revealing how atom interactions and feedback influence population dynamics and thermodynamic properties in the system.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental setup for studying ultracold atom transport in a transistor-like potential and demonstrates the impact of feedback parameters on atom flow and thermodynamics.

Findings

Atom transport depends strongly on the feedback parameter.

The gate well can develop higher chemical potential and lower temperature.

Atom-atom interactions and dissipation affect population growth in the gate.

Abstract

The transport of atoms is experimentally studied in a transistor-like triple-well potential consisting of a narrow gate well surrounded by source and drain wells. Atoms are initially loaded into the source well with pre-determined temperature and chemical potential. Energetic atoms flow from the source, across the gate, and into the drain where they are removed using a resonant light beam. The manifestation of atom-atom interactions and dissipation is evidenced by a rapid population growth in the initially vacant gate well. The transport dynamics are shown to depend strongly on a feedback parameter determined by the relative heights of the two barriers forming the gate region. For a range of feedback parameter values, experiments establish that the gate atoms develop a larger chemical potential and lower temperature than those in the source.