Fundamental Limit of Phase Coherence in Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates

Yifan Li, Krzysztof Pawłowski, Boris Décamps, Paolo Colciaghi, Matteo Fadel, Philipp Treutlein, and Tilman Zibold
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 123402 – Published 18 September 2020

Abstract

We experimentally and theoretically study phase coherence in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates of Rb87 atoms on an atom chip. Using Ramsey interferometry we determine the temporal decay of coherence between the |F=1,mF=1 and |F=2,mF=+1 hyperfine ground states. We observe that the coherence is limited by random collisional phase shifts due to the stochastic nature of atom loss. The mechanism is confirmed quantitatively by a quantum trajectory method based on a master equation which takes into account collisional interactions, atom number fluctuations, and losses in the system. This decoherence process can be slowed down by reducing the density of the condensate. Our findings are relevant for experiments on quantum metrology and many-particle entanglement with Bose-Einstein condensates and the development of chip-based atomic clocks.

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  • Received 9 April 2020
  • Accepted 24 August 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.123402

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Yifan Li1,2, Krzysztof Pawłowski3, Boris Décamps1, Paolo Colciaghi1, Matteo Fadel1, Philipp Treutlein1, and Tilman Zibold1,*

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
  • 2Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
  • 3Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland

  • *tilman.zibold@unibas.ch

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Vol. 125, Iss. 12 — 18 September 2020

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