Free expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a 1D optical lattice

TL;DR

This study experimentally examines how a Bose-Einstein condensate expands freely when loaded into a 1D optical lattice, revealing the relationship between chemical potential and expansion dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative analysis of the chemical potential's effect on condensate expansion in a 1D optical lattice, based on experimental measurements.

Findings

Expansion reflects increased chemical potential due to the lattice

Chemical potential can be calculated from transverse expansion measurements

Adiabatic loading into the lattice influences expansion behavior

Abstract

We have experimentally investigated the free expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an array of two-dimensional traps created by a one-dimensional optical lattice. If the condensate held in a magnetic trap is loaded adiabatically into the lattice, the increase in chemical potential due to the additional periodic potential is reflected in the expansion of the condensate after switching off the magnetic trap. We have calculated the chemical potential from measurements of the transverse expansion of the condensate as a function of the lattice parameters.