Robust mesoscopic superposition of strongly correlated ultracold atoms

Journal Article · Wed Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.82.063623· OSTI ID:21528946

Hallwood, David W ^[1]; Ernst, Thomas; Brand, Joachim ^[1]

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1. New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Centre for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore, Auckland 0745 (New Zealand)

We propose a scheme to create coherent superpositions of annular flow of strongly interacting bosonic atoms in a one-dimensional ring trap. The nonrotating ground state is coupled to a vortex state with mesoscopic angular momentum by means of a narrow potential barrier and an applied phase that originates from either rotation or a synthetic magnetic field. We show that superposition states in the Tonks-Girardeau regime are robust against single-particle loss due to the effects of strong correlations. The coupling between the mesoscopically distinct states scales much more favorably with particle number than in schemes relying on weak interactions, thus making particle numbers of hundreds or thousands feasible. Coherent oscillations induced by time variation of parameters may serve as a 'smoking gun' signature for detecting superposition states.

• OSTI ID: 21528946
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 82, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.82.063623; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
ATOMS
CORRELATIONS
COUPLING
MAGNETIC FIELDS
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
OSCILLATIONS
PARTICLE LOSSES
PARTICLES
POTENTIALS
ROTATION
VARIATIONS
VORTICES
WEAK INTERACTIONS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
INTERACTIONS
LOSSES
MOTION