Having it Both Ways: Distinguishable Yet Phase-Coherent Mixtures of Bose-Einstein Condensates

TL;DR

This paper reports on experiments with mixed Bose-Einstein condensates in rubidium-87, exploring component separation and phase coherence by manipulating hyperfine states and observing phase-sensitive population transfer.

Contribution

It introduces a method to study phase coherence and dynamics in mixed BECs using hyperfine state manipulation and phase-sensitive population transfer.

Findings

Demonstrated control of population transfer sensitive to relative phase

Studied dynamics of component separation in mixed BECs

Explored phase coherence in interpenetrating condensates

Abstract

We have begun a series of experiments on mixed bosonic quantum fluids. Our system is mixed Bose-Einstein condensates in dilute Rb-87. By simultaneously trapping the atoms in two different hyperfine states, we are able to study the dynamics of component separation and of the relative quantum phase of two interpenetrating condensates. Population can be converted from one state to the other at a rate that is sensitive to the relative phase.