Hanbury Brown-Twiss correlations and multimode dynamics of quenched spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This study investigates the complex multimode dynamics and correlations in quenched spinor Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing super-Poissonian noise and decay patterns linked to inhomogeneous density profiles.

Contribution

It provides a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of multimode excitations and correlations in quenched spinor BECs, highlighting the role of inhomogeneity.

Findings

Observation of Hanbury Brown-Twiss correlations in spinor BECs

Decay of correlations matches spin domain patterns

Theoretical models agree with experimental data

Abstract

We have studied the interaction between multiple, competing spatial modes that are excited by a quantum quench of an antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. We observed Hanbury Brown-Twiss correlations and associated super-Poissonian noise in the mode populations. The decay of these correlations was consistent with experimentally observed spin domain patterns. Data were compared with a real-space Bogoliubov theory as well as numerical solution of the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations that were seeded by quantum noise via the truncated Wigner approximation. The spatial modes that were both observed experimentally and deduced theoretically are intimately connected to the inhomogeneous density profile of the condensate, which imparts many rich features to the dynamics.