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Observation of<i>Zitterbewegung</i>in a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate

Chunlei QuDepartment of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USAChris HamnerDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, USAMing GongDepartment of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USAChuanwei ZhangDepartment of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USAPeter EngelsDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, USA

2013de

ABI

Annotatsiya

Spin-orbit-coupled ultracold atoms provide an intriguing new avenue for the study of rich spin dynamics in superfluids. In this Rapid Communication, we observe Zitterbewegung, the simultaneous velocity (thus position) and spin oscillations, of neutral atoms between two spin-orbit-coupled bands in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) through sudden quantum quenches of the Hamiltonian. The observed Zitterbewegung oscillations are perfect on a short time scale but gradually damp out on a long time scale, followed by sudden and strong heating of the BEC. As an application, we also demonstrate how Zitterbewegung oscillations can be exploited to populate the upper spin-orbit band and observe a subsequent dipole motion. Our experimental results are corroborated by a theoretical and numerical analysis and showcase the great flexibility that ultracold atoms provide for investigating rich spin dynamics in superfluids.

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Identifikatorlar

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.88.021604

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