Nonlinear Dynamics of a Bose Condensed Gas

TL;DR

This paper models the nonlinear dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a magnetic trap, providing theoretical solutions for oscillations and expansion, and compares these with recent experimental results.

Contribution

It introduces a hydrodynamic approach to analyze large amplitude oscillations and expansion dynamics of Bose condensates, aligning theory with experimental observations.

Findings

Theoretical predictions match experimental data on condensate oscillations.

Hydrodynamic equations effectively describe large amplitude dynamics.

Expansion behavior of condensates is accurately modeled.

Abstract

We investigate the dynamic behavior of a Bose-condensed gas of alkali atoms interacting with repulsive forces and confined in a magnetic trap at zero temperature. Using the Thomas-Fermi approximation, we rewrite the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in the form of the hydrodynamic equations of superfluids. We present solutions describing large amplitude oscillations of the atomic cloud as well as the expansion of the gas after switching off the trap. We compare our theoretical predictions with the recent experimental data obtained at Jila and MIT.