Spontaneous demagnetization of a dipolar spinor Bose gas in an ultralow magnetic field

We study the spinor properties of S = 3 (52)Cr condensates, in which dipole-dipole interactions allow changes in magnetization. We observe a demagnetization of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) when the magnetic field is quenched below a critical value corresponding to a phase transition between a...

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Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 106; no. 25; p. 255303
Main Authors Pasquiou, B, Maréchal, E, Bismut, G, Pedri, P, Vernac, L, Gorceix, O, Laburthe-Tolra, B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 24.06.2011
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Summary:We study the spinor properties of S = 3 (52)Cr condensates, in which dipole-dipole interactions allow changes in magnetization. We observe a demagnetization of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) when the magnetic field is quenched below a critical value corresponding to a phase transition between a ferromagnetic and a nonpolarized ground state, which occurs when spin-dependent contact interactions overwhelm the linear Zeeman effect. The critical field is increased when the density is raised by loading the BEC in a deep 2D optical lattice. The magnetization dynamics is set by dipole-dipole interactions.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.106.255303