Dynamics of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in an Anharmonic Trap

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical model to describe the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in anharmonic traps, focusing on center-of-mass motion and internal dynamics, validated against recent experimental setups.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified scaling approach for condensate dynamics in anharmonic potentials, extending previous models to more complex trap geometries.

Findings

The model accurately describes condensate behavior in anharmonic traps.

Validation against recent experimental data confirms the model's applicability.

The approach separates center-of-mass and internal dynamics effectively.

Abstract

We present a theoretical model to describe the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in anharmonic trapping potentials. To first approximation the center-of-mass motion is separated from the internal condensate dynamics and the problem is reduced to the well known scaling solutions for the Thomas-Fermi radii. We discuss the validity of this approach and analyze the model for an anharmonic waveguide geometry which was recently realized in an experiment \cite{Ott2002c}.