2016 CAP Congress / Congrès de l'ACP 2016

Nonclassical diffusion in a nondegenerate ultracold gas

15 Jun 2016, 15:30

30m

SITE G0103 (University of Ottawa)

Invited Speaker / Conférencier invité Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Canada / Division de la physique atomique, moléculaire et photonique, Canada (DAMOPC-DPAMPC) W3-6 Cold and Trapped Atoms, Molecules and Ions (DAMOPC) / Atomes, molécules et ions froids et piégés (DPAMPC)

Speaker

Jeffrey McGuirk (Simon Fraser University)

Description

We study the crossover from classical to quantum diffusion by studying the equilibration of longitudinal spin domains in a trapped 87Rb sample just above quantum degeneracy. By controlling the degree of spin coherence in the domain wall, we can dramatically alter the relaxation dynamics of the system. Coherence in the domain wall leads to transverse-spin-mediated longitudinal spin diffusion that is slower than classical predictions, as well as altering the domains' oscillation frequency. We also investigate an instability in the longitudinal spin dynamics as the longitudinal and transverse spin components couple, and a conversion of longitudinal spin to transverse spin is observed, leading to longer lived coherent spin oscillations.