Photo association and optical Feshbach resonances in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate: Treatment of correlation effects
- Laboratoire Aime Cotton, CNRS, Batiment 505 Campus d'Orsay, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France)
In this paper we formulate the time-dependent many-body theory of photo association in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate with realistic interatomic interactions, using and comparing two approximations: the first-order cumulant approximation [Phys. Rev. A 65, 033601 (2002)], and the reduced pair wave approximation [Phys. Rev. A 68, 033612 (2003)]. The two approximations differ only by the way a pair of condensate atoms is influenced by the mean field at short interatomic separations. In both cases we identify two different regimes of photo association: the adiabatic regime and the coherent regime. The threshold for the so-called 'rogue dissociation' [Phys. Rev. Let t. 88, 090403 (2002)] (where the Gross-Pitaevskii model breaks down) is found to be different in each regime, shedding new light on the experiment of McKenzie et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 120403 (2002)]. Comparing numerical solutions for the two approximations with the Gross-Pitaevskii predictions, we find two different effects: reduction of the photoassociation rate at short times, and creation of correlated pairs of atoms when the laser intensity is switched on rapidly. We also observe effects on the symmetry of the photoassociation line shapes, giving the possibility to experimentally distinguish between the two approximations.
- OSTI ID:
- 20787146
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 73, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.73.043611; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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