Meissner-like effect for synthetic gauge field in multimode cavity QED

TL;DR

This paper proposes a multimode cavity QED scheme with Raman coupling to create a dynamic synthetic magnetic field that can be expelled from a Bose-Einstein condensate, mimicking the Meissner effect in superconductors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method using multimode cavities to realize a dynamic, spatially adaptable synthetic magnetic field capable of exhibiting a Meissner-like expulsion effect.

Findings

Numerical simulations show dynamical coupling between the synthetic field and the condensate.

The system demonstrates a Meissner-like expulsion of the synthetic magnetic field.

The back-action of atoms on the field is a key feature distinguishing it from previous effects.

Abstract

Previous realizations of synthetic gauge fields for ultracold atoms do not allow the spatial profile of the field to evolve freely. We propose a scheme which overcomes this restriction by using the light in a multimode cavity, in conjunction with Raman coupling, to realize an artificial magnetic field which acts on a Bose-Einstein condensate of neutral atoms. We describe the evolution of such a system, and present the results of numerical simulations which show dynamical coupling between the effective field and the matter on which it acts. Crucially, the freedom of the spatial profile of the field is sufficient to realize a close analogue of the Meissner effect, where the magnetic field is expelled from the superfluid. This back-action of the atoms on the synthetic field distinguishes the Meissner-like effect described here from the Hess-Fairbank suppression of rotation in a neutral superfluid observed elsewhere.