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Transverse laser modes in Bose-Einstein condensates

G. Whyte·P. Ohberg·J. Courtial
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Abstract

We examine the Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) equivalent of transverse aspects of laser resonators. We model numerically repeated focussing of a 2-dimensional BEC, which could be achieved in practice by a series of far off-resonant light pulses. We show for a range of non-linear coefficients that such a series of light pulses traps the BEC. We also model a combination of repeated focussing and loss, which could be achieved with a series of light pulses, some far off-resonant, some resonant. In analogy to light repeatedly being focussed and locally absorbed by passing through a laser resonator, a small proportion (in our model up to 10%) of the BEC is shaped into Hermite-Gaussian-like modes; the remainder of the BEC is lost. This happens irrespective of the presence of a harmonic trap. We show that astigmatic focussing of the resulting Hermite-Gaussian-like modes, which can be achieved by a pair of off-resonant light pulses, results in a specific number of vortices.

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G. Whyte, P. Ohberg, J. Courtial. 2003-10-29. Transverse laser modes in Bose-Einstein condensates. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.69.053610

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