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Seji Kang

Publications and source records attributed to Seji Kang.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Strontium ${}^{1}S_{0}\!\rightarrow\!{}^{1}P_{1}$ transition frequency measurements assisted by a photonic grating chip

We measure the absolute frequency of the ${}^{1}S_{0}\!\rightarrow\!{}^{1}P_{1}$ transition in strontium using two methods: fluorescence spectroscopy of a thermal atomic beam source from a compact low-power oven and velocity measurements of a slow atomic beam from a two-dimensional grating magneto-optical trap (2D gMOT). The measurements for both methods are performed in the same ultra-high vacuum chamber containing a diffraction grating chip which is placed below the strontium atoms that are being interrogated. The first method uses a probe laser beam incident on the grating chip such that the grating acts as an end mirror, with the first-order diffracted beam providing a retro-reflected probe beam. The counter-propagating laser beams traverse an atomic beam emitted from an oven, enabling spatially resolved fluorescence spectroscopy through CCD imaging and hyperfine-constrained multi-isotope fitting. The second method relies on a large profile cooling laser beam normally incident onto the grating chip which laser cools strontium atoms for a slow atomic beam source. The velocity of the atoms exiting the 2D gMOT is measured as a function of the laser detuning and intensity from which the resonance frequency can be estimated. The two methods are consistent within their quoted uncertainties. Using three datasets based on retro-beam spectroscopy measurements, and one dataset using slow atom beam velocity measurements, we determine the ${}^{1}S_{0}\!\rightarrow\!{}^{1}P_{1}$ transition frequency to be $650.503\,815(5)~\mathrm{THz}$. Our result provides a re-evaluation of this $461$ nm transition demonstrated on a compact laser cooling apparatus based on a diffraction grating platform.

physics.atom-ph

FPGA-based disturbance-observer servo for broadband noise suppression in laser frequency stabilization

We have demonstrated broadband frequency-noise suppression in a laser stabilization system by augmenting a conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller with a digital disturbance observer (DOB) implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The DOB employs a first-order exponential moving average filter as its Q-filter, replacing multi-parameter frequency-domain plant identification with a single one-dimensional gain sweep. Using modulation transfer spectroscopy on the 87Rb D2 line at 780.24 nm, we have measured the frequency-noise power spectral density and the Allan deviation of the beat note between two independently stabilized lasers. The integrated rms frequency noise below 40 kHz decreased by 16.9 dB compared with PID alone, corresponding to a reduction from approximately 140 kHz to 20 kHz. The short-term fractional frequency instability improved from sigma_y(1 ms) = $7.9 \times 10^{-12}$ to $4.6 \times 10^{-12}$, while the long-term stability at tau > 1 s remained within statistical uncertainty. This DOB-augmented architecture offers a simple and effective route to enhanced noise rejection in FPGA-based servo systems for atomic physics experiments.

physics.atom-ph

High-stability offset-frequency locking of two lasers using a balanced filter discriminator

We demonstrate a high-stability laser offset-frequency locking technique based on a balanced filter discriminator. The beat note between two 852 nm external-cavity diode lasers is down-converted in two parallel arms using local-oscillator frequencies placed symmetrically around the desired offset frequency. After low-pass filtering and RMS detection, differential subtraction of the two detector outputs produces a dispersive frequency-error signal with a zero crossing primarily defined by the reference local-oscillator frequencies. This balanced configuration reduces sensitivity to common beat-power fluctuations and can improve the effective error-signal signal-to-noise ratio. The system was implemented for an 8.653 GHz offset corresponding to the cesium repumping frequency difference used in our laser-cooling setup. Measurements with different low-pass filters reveal a trade-off between discrimination sensitivity and feedback bandwidth. With an SLP-1.9+ filter, the locked beat frequency reached a fractional instability of $4\times10^{-15}$ at 10 s when referred to the 852 nm optical carrier. The residual dependence on photodetector optical power was also characterized, showing that amplitude-to-frequency conversion remains small in the optimized differential configuration. This approach provides a practical frequency-only offset-locking method for atomic-physics experiments requiring stable and tunable microwave-scale laser frequency offsets.

physics.atom-ph

Spin-driven stationary turbulence in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We report the observation of stationary turbulence in antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates driven by a radio-frequency magnetic field. The magnetic driving injects energy into the system by spin rotation and the energy is dissipated via dynamic instability, resulting in the emergence of an irregular spin texture in the condensate. Under continuous driving, the spinor condensate evolves into a nonequilibrium steady state with characteristic spin turbulence, while the low energy scale of spin excitations ensures that the sample's lifetime is minimally affected. When the driving strength is on par with the system's spin interaction energy and the quadratic Zeeman energy, remarkably, the stationary turbulent state exhibits spin-isotropic features in spin composition and spatial spin texture. We numerically show that ambient field fluctuations play a crucial role in sustaining the turbulent state within the system. These results open up new avenues for exploring quantum turbulence in spinor superfluid systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Crossover from weak to strong quench in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate

We investigate the early-time dynamics of a quasi-two-dimensional spin-1 antiferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate after a sudden quench from the easy-plane to the easy-axis polar phase. The post-quench dynamics shows a crossover behavior as the quench strength $\tilde{q}$ is increased, where $\tilde{q}$ is defined as the ratio of the initial excitation energy per particle to the characteristic spin interaction energy. For a weak quench of $\tilde{q}<1$, long-wavelength spin excitations are dominantly generated, leading to the formation of irregular spin domains. With increasing $\tilde{q}$, the length scale of the initial spin excitations decreases, and we demonstrate that the long-wavelength instability is strongly suppressed for high $\tilde{q}>2$. The observed crossover behavior is found to be consistent with the Bogoliubov description of the dynamic instability of the initial spinor condensate.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Observation of wall-vortex composite defects in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate

We report the observation of spin domain walls bounded by half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate with antiferromagnetic interactions. A spinor condensate is initially prepared in the easy-plane polar phase, and then, suddenly quenched into the easy-axis polar phase. Domain walls are created via the spontaneous $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry breaking in the phase transition and the walls dynamically split into composite defects due to snake instability. The end points of the defects are identified as HQVs for the polar order parameter and the mass supercurrent in their proximity is demonstrated using Bragg scattering. In a strong quench regime, we observe that singly charged quantum vortices are formed with the relaxation of free wall-vortex composite defects. Our results demonstrate a nucleation mechanism for composite defects via phase transition dynamics.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Metastable hard-axis polar state of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate under a magnetic field gradient

We investigate the stability of a hard-axis polar state in a spin-1 antiferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate under a magnetic field gradient, where the easy-plane spin anisotropy is controlled by a negative quadratic Zeeman energy $q<0$. In a uniform magnetic field, the axial polar state is dynamically unstable and relaxes into the planar polar ground state. However, under a field gradient $B'$, the excited spin state becomes metastable down to a certain threshold $q_{th}$ and as $q$ decreases below $q_{th}$, its intrinsic dynamical instability is rapidly recalled. The incipient spin excitations in the relaxation dynamics appear with stripe structures, indicating the rotational symmetry breaking by the field gradient. We measure the dependences of $q_{th}$ on $B'$ and the sample size, and we find that $q_{th}$ is highly sensitive to the field gradient in the vicinity of $B'=0$, exhibiting power-law behavior of $|q_{th}|\propto B'^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha \sim 0.5$. Our results demonstrate the significance of the field gradient effect in the quantum critical dynamics of spinor condensates.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Emergence and scaling of spin turbulence in quenched antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate the phase transition dynamics of a quasi-2D antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate from the easy-axis polar phase to the easy-plane polar phase, which is initiated by suddenly changing the sign of the quadratic Zeeman energy $q$. We observe the emergence and decay of spin turbulence and the formation of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the quenched condensate. The characteristic time and length scales of the turbulence generation dynamics are proportional to $|q|^{-1/2}$ as inherited from the dynamic instability of the initial state. In the evolution of the spin turbulence, spin wave excitations develop from large to small length scales, suggesting a direct energy cascade, and the spin population for the axial polar domains exhibit a nonexponential decay. The final equilibrated condensate contains HQVs, and the number is found to increase and saturate with increasing $|q|$. Our results demonstrate the time-space scaling properties of the phase transition dynamics near the critical point and the peculiarities of the spin turbulence state of the antiferromagnetic spinor condensate.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Collisional Dynamics of Half-Quantum Vortices in a Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate

We present an experimental study on the interaction and dynamics of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in an antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. By exploiting the orbit motion of a vortex dipole in a trapped condensate, we perform a collision experiment of two HQV pairs, and observe that the scattering motions of the HQVs is consistent with the short-range vortex interaction that arises from nonsingular magnetized vortex cores. We also investigate the relaxation dynamics of turbulent condensates containing many HQVs, and demonstrate that spin wave excitations are generated by the collisional motions of the HQVs. The short-range vortex interaction and the HQV-magnon coupling represent two characteristics of the HQV dynamics in the spinor superfluid.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Half-Quantum Vortices in an Antiferromagnetic Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate

We report on the observation of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the easy-plane polar phase of an antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. Using in situ magnetization-sensitive imaging, we observe that pairs of HQVs with opposite core magnetization are generated when singly charged quantum vortices are injected into the condensate. The dynamics of HQV pair formation is characterized by measuring the temporal evolutions of the pair separation distance and the core magnetization, which reveals the short-range nature of the repulsive interactions between the HQVs. We find that spin fluctuations arising from thermal population of axial magnon excitations do not significantly affect the HQV pair formation dynamics. Our results demonstrate the instability of a singly charged vortex in the antiferromagnetic spinor condensate.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Rotating a Bose-Einstein condensate by shaking an anharmonic axisymmetric magnetic potential

We present an experimental method for rotating a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an axisymmetric magnetic potential. This method is based on the anharmonicity of the trapping potential, which couples the center-of-mass motion of the condensate to its internal motion. By circularly shaking the trapping potential, we generate a circular center-of-mass motion of the condensate around the trap center. The circulating condensate undergoes rotating shape deformation and eventually relaxes into a rotating condensate with a vortex lattice. We discuss the vortex nucleation mechanism and in particular, the role of the thermal cloud in the relaxation process. Finally, we investigate the dependence of the vortex nucleation on the elliptical polarization of the trap shaking. The response of the condensate is asymmetric with respect to the sign of the shaking polarization, demonstrating the gauge field effect due to the spin texture of the condensate in the magnetic potential.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Observation of a Geometric Hall Effect in a Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate with a Skyrmion Spin Texture

For a spin-carrying particle moving in a spatially varying magnetic field, effective electromagnetic forces can arise due to the geometric phase associated with adiabatic spin rotation of the particle. We report the observation of a geometric Hall effect in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate with a skyrmion spin texture. Under translational oscillations of the spin texture, the condensate resonantly develops a circular motion in a harmonic trap, demonstrating the existence of an effective Lorentz force. When the condensate circulates, quantized vortices are nucleated in the boundary region of the condensate and the vortex number increases over 100 without significant heating. We attribute the vortex nucleation to the shearing effect of the effective Lorentz force from the inhomogeneous effective magnetic field.

cond-mat.quant-gas