Long-time-scale dynamics of spin textures in a degenerate F=1 {sup 87}Rb spinor Bose gas
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
We investigate the long-term dynamics of spin textures prepared by cooling unmagnetized spinor gases of F=1 {sup 87}Rb to quantum degeneracy, observing domain coarsening and a strong dependence of the equilibration dynamics on the quadratic Zeeman shift q. For small values of |q|, the textures arrive at a configuration independent of the initial spin-state composition, characterized by large length-scale spin domains and the establishment of easy-axis (negative q) or easy-plane (positive q) magnetic anisotropy. For larger |q|, equilibration is delayed as the spin-state composition of the degenerate spinor gas remains close to its initial value. These observations support the mean-field equilibrium phase diagram predicted for a ferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate and also illustrate that equilibration is achieved under a narrow range of experimental settings, making the F=1 {sup 87}Rb gas more suitable for studies of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics.
- OSTI ID:
- 22095676
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 84, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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