Generating persistent-current superpositions in Bose-Einstein condensates using dynamic optical potentials

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to create and control superpositions of persistent currents in Bose-Einstein condensates using dynamic optical potentials, with high fidelity and stability, relevant for quantum technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a simple, efficient approach to engineer motional states of BECs with time-dependent optical fields, supported by numerical and analytical models.

Findings

High-fidelity superpositions of persistent currents achieved

Method is compatible with existing light sculpting techniques

Analytical model accurately predicts state evolution with interactions

Abstract

Precise and flexible manipulation of the motional state of ultracold atoms is a fundamental enabling technology for diverse applications such as quantum sensing and quantum computation. In this paper we propose a general, simple and highly efficient method to engineer the motional state of a Bose-Einstein condensate with time-dependent optical fields, which can be realized experimentally with existing light sculpting techniques. We demonstrate numerically how to engineer superpositions of persistent currents in a toroidal trap, achieving very high fidelity. We also study in detail the stability of the state over time, and we present an analytical two-state model that approximates well the evolution of the state in presence of self-interactions.