Frankfurt 2006 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help

Q: Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 2: Quantengase I

Q 2.3: Talk

Monday, March 13, 2006, 11:40–11:55, HVI

Theory of superradiant Rayleigh scattering from Bose-Einstein condensates — •Oliver Zobay and Georgios M. Nikolopoulos — Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany

We study superradiant scattering off Bose-Einstein condensates by solving the semiclassical Maxwell-Schrödinger equations describing the coupled dynamics of matter-wave and optical fields [1]. Taking the spatial dependence of these fields along the condensate axis into account, we are able to reproduce and explain many of the characteristic features observed in the experiments [2,3], such as the shape of momentum side-mode distributions for forward and backward scattering, the spatial asymmetry between forward and backward side modes, and the depletion of the condensate center observed for forward scattering.

[1] O. Zobay and G. M. Nikolopoulos, Phys. Rev. A 72, 041604(R) (2005).

[2] S. Inouye, A. P. Chikkatur, D. M. Stamper-Kurn, J. Stenger, D. E. Pritchard, and W. Ketterle, Science 285, 571 (1999).

[3] D. Schneble, Y. Torii, M. Boyd, E. W. Streed, D. E. Pritchard, and W. Ketterle, Science 300, 475 (2003).