Effect of the Casimir-Polder force on the collective oscillations of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate

Journal Article · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 2004 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.70.053619· OSTI ID:20646267

Antezza, Mauro; Stringari, Sandro ^[1]; Pitaevskii, Lev P ^[1]

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1. Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Trento and Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia INFM-BEC, I-38050 Povo, Trento (Italy)

We calculate the effect of the interaction between an optically active material and a Bose-Einstein condensate on the collective oscillations of the condensate. We provide explicit expressions for the frequency shift of the center-of-mass oscillation in terms of the potential generated by the substrate and of the density profile of the gas. The form of the potential is discussed in detail and various regimes (van der Waals-London, Casimir-Polder, and thermal regimes) are identified as a function of the distance of atoms from the surface. Numerical results for the frequency shifts are given for the case of a sapphire dielectric substrate interacting with a harmonically trapped condensate of {sup 87}Rb atoms. We find that at distances of 4-8 {mu}m, where thermal effects become visible, the relative frequency shifts produced by the substrate are of the order 10{sup -4} and hence accessible experimentally. The effects of nonlinearities due to the finite amplitude of the oscillation are explicitly discussed. Predictions are also given for the radial breathing mode.

• OSTI ID: 20646267
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 70; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
AMPLITUDES
ATOMS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
CENTER-OF-MASS SYSTEM
DENSITY
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
DISTANCE
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
OSCILLATIONS
POTENTIALS
RUBIDIUM
RUBIDIUM 87
SAPPHIRE
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TRAPPING
VAN DER WAALS FORCES