Wave mixing of optical pulses and Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores four-wave mixing between optical pulses and Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing atomic pair production that generates forward and backward matter waves with distinct phase-matching and angular distributions.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model for optical and matter wave mixing in BECs, highlighting the generation of paired matter waves with unique propagation characteristics.

Findings

Atomic pair production leads to forward and backward matter waves.

Different phase-matching conditions cause distinct angular distributions.

The temporal evolution of the waves varies based on phase-matching.

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the four-wave mixing of optical and matter waves resulting from the scattering of a short light pulse off an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, as recently demonstrated by D. Schneble {\em et al.} [ Science {\bf 300}, 475 (2003)]. We show that atomic ``pair production'' from the condensate results in the generation of both forward- and backward-propagating matter waves. These waves are characterized by different phase-matching conditions, resulting in different angular distributions and temporal evolutions.