Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
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A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 15: Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC III (with Q)
A 15.6: Talk
Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 12:00–12:15, BAR 106
Stability of a Dipolar Quantum Gas in a 1D Optical Lattice — •Stefan Mueller1,2, Juliette Billy1, Emanuel Henn1, Holger Kadau1, Philipp Weinmann1, David Peter1, Mattia Jona Lasinio2, Luis Santos2, and Tilman Pfau1 — 15. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart — 2Cluster of Excellence QUEST, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität Hannover
We present first measurements on the stability of a BEC of chromium atoms in a 1D optical lattice. In a shallow lattice the trap aspect ratio of the underlying optical dipole trap (ODT) potential determines the critical scattering length [1]. However, in a deep lattice the system can be considered as a stack of pancake shape BECs, which individually are expected to be much more stable. We investigate the range from 0 to approx. 100 recoil energies lattice depth, observing a continuous decrease in the critical scattering length from +13 to -20 Bohr radii. Theoretical studies support significant intersite coupling via the long range dipole-dipole interactions.
[1] T.Koch et al.: Nature Physics 4, 218 (2008)