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Quantum reflection of bright solitary matter waves from a narrow attractive potential

Marchant, A.L.; Billam, T.P.; Yu, M.M.H.; Rakonjac, A.; Helm, J.L.; Polo, J.; Weiss, C.; Gardiner, S.A.; Cornish, S.L.

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Authors

A.L. Marchant

T.P. Billam

M.M.H. Yu

A. Rakonjac

J.L. Helm

J. Polo

C. Weiss



Abstract

We report the observation of quantum reflection from a narrow attractive potential using bright solitary matter waves formed from a Rb 85 Bose-Einstein condensate. We create the attractive potential using a tightly focused, red-detuned laser beam, and observe reflection of up to 25% of the atoms, along with the confinement of atoms at the position of the beam. We show that the observed reflected fraction is much larger than theoretical predictions for a simple Gaussian potential well. A more detailed model of bright soliton propagation, accounting for the generic presence of small subsidiary intensity maxima in the red-detuned beam, suggests that these small intensity maxima are the cause of this enhanced reflection.

Citation

Marchant, A., Billam, T., Yu, M., Rakonjac, A., Helm, J., Polo, J., …Cornish, S. (2016). Quantum reflection of bright solitary matter waves from a narrow attractive potential. Physical Review A, 93(2), Article 021604(R). https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.93.021604

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 14, 2016
Online Publication Date Feb 3, 2016
Publication Date Feb 3, 2016
Deposit Date Feb 4, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Physical Review A
Print ISSN 1050-2947
Electronic ISSN 1094-1622
Publisher American Physical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 93
Issue 2
Article Number 021604(R)
DOI https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.93.021604

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Copyright Statement
Reprinted with permission from the American Physical Society: Physical Review A 93, 021604(R) © (2016) by the American Physical Society. Readers may view, browse, and/or download material for temporary copying purposes only, provided these uses are for noncommercial personal purposes. Except as provided by law, this material may not be further reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, adapted, performed, displayed, published, or sold in whole or part, without prior written permission from the American Physical Society.





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