arXiv subjects

Fabrice Gerbier

Publications and source records attributed to Fabrice Gerbier.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Coherence length of an elongated condensate: a study by matter-wave interferometry

We measure the spatial correlation function of Bose-Einstein condensates in the cross-over region between phase-coherent and strongly phase-fluctuating condensates. We observe the continuous path from a gaussian-like shape to an exponential-like shape characteristic of one-dimensional phase-fluctuations. The width of the spatial correlation function as a function of the temperature shows that the condensate coherence length undergoes no sharp transition between these two regimes.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2004

Quasi-1D Bose-Einstein condensates in the dimensional crossover regime

We study theoretically the dimensional crossover from a three-dimensional elongated condensate to a one-dimensional condensate as the transverse degrees of freedom get frozen by tight confinement, in the limit of small density fluctuations, i.e. for a strongly degenerate gas. We compute analytically the radially integrated density profile at low temperatures using a local density approximation, and study the behavior of phase fluctuations with the transverse confinement. Previous studies of phase fluctuations in trapped gases have either focused on the 3D elongated regimes or on the 1D regime. The present approach recovers these previous results and is able to interpolate between them. We show in particular that in this strongly degenerate limit the shape of the spatial correlation function is insensitive to the transverse regime of confinement, pointing out to an almost universal behavior of phase fluctuations in elongated traps.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Observation of deviations from ideal gas thermodynamics in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensed gas

We have investigated experimentally the finite-temperature properties of a Bose-Einstein condensed cloud of $^{87}$Rb atoms in a harmonic trap. Focusing primarily on condensed fraction and expansion energy, we measure unambiguous deviations from ideal-gas thermodynamics, and obtain good agreement with a Hartree-Fock description of the mixed cloud. Our results offer for the first time clear evidence of the mutual interaction between the condensed and thermal components. To probe the low-temperature region unaccessible to the usual time-of-flight technique, we use coherent Bragg scattering as a filtering technique for the condensate. This allows us to separate spatially the condensed and normal components in time of flight, and to measure reliably temperatures as low as $0.2 T_{\rm c}^0$ and thermal fractions as low as 10%.Finally, we observe evidence for the limitations of the usual image analysis procedure, pointing out to the need for a more elaborate model of the expansion of the mixed cloud.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2003

The critical temperature of a trapped, weakly interacting Bose gas

We report on measurements of the critical temperature of a harmonically trapped, weakly interacting Bose gas as a function of atom number. Our results exclude ideal-gas behavior by more than two standard deviations, and agree quantitatively with mean-field theory. At our level of sensitivity, we find no additional shift due to critical fluctuations. In the course of this measurement, the onset of hydrodynamic expansion in the thermal component has been observed. Our thermometry method takes this feature into account.

cond-mat↗