Probing the statistical properties of Bose-Einstein condensates with light

TL;DR

This paper proposes using scattering of short laser pulses on Bose-Einstein condensates to analyze their statistical properties, specifically distinguishing between Poisson and microcanonical statistics through photon count variance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical method to probe the statistical nature of Bose-Einstein condensates using light scattering.

Findings

Photon number variance can differentiate statistical models.

Scattering technique provides a non-invasive measurement method.

Potential for experimental verification of condensate statistics.

Abstract

A scattering of short, weak, nonresonant laser pulses on a Bose-Einstein condensate is proposed as a tool for studying its statistical properties. We show in particular that the variance of the number of scattered photons may distinguish between the Poisson and microcanonical statistics.