Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help
Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 37: Quantengase (Tunneln I)
Q 37.1: Group Report
Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 12:00–12:30, 6J
Resonant tunnelling of Bose-Einstein condensates in periodic potentials — •Sandro Wimberger1,2, Donatella Ciampini1, Oliver Morsch1, Riccardo Mannella1, and Ennio Arimondo1 — 1CNR-INFM and Dipartimento di Fisica "Enrico Fermi", Università degli Studi di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa — 2Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Torino
Resonantly enhanced tunnelling (RET) results from the interplay between quantum tunnelling and the discrete energy states of particles confined in potential wells. In spite of the fundamental nature of this effect and the practical interest, it has been difficult to observe experimentally. Since the 1970s, much progress has been made in constructing superlattice structures in which RET of electrons was demonstrated for the first time in 1974. Here we show that resonant tunnelling can be observed using Bose-Einstein condensates in accelerated optical lattice potentials. The near-perfect control over the parameters of this system allows us to prepare the condensates with arbitrary initial conditions and also to study theoretically and experimentally the effects of nonlinearity and a loss of coherence. Our approach can be generalized to studying noise and thermal effects in resonant tunnelling and underlines the usefulness of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices as model systems for the solid state.