Direct observation of zitterbewegung in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Zitterbewegung, a force-free trembling motion first predicted for relativistic fermions like electrons, was an unexpected consequence of the Dirac equation's unification of quantum mechanics and special relativity. Though the oscillatory motion's large frequency and small amplitude have pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew journal of physics Vol. 15; no. 7; pp. 73011 - 11
Main Authors LeBlanc, L J, Beeler, M C, Jiménez-García, K, Perry, A R, Sugawa, S, Williams, R A, Spielman, I B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IOP Publishing 03.07.2013
Subjects
Amplitudes
Bose-Einstein condensates
Dirac equation
Fermions
Quantum mechanics
Relativity
Simulation
Utilities
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Summary:Zitterbewegung, a force-free trembling motion first predicted for relativistic fermions like electrons, was an unexpected consequence of the Dirac equation's unification of quantum mechanics and special relativity. Though the oscillatory motion's large frequency and small amplitude have precluded its measurement with electrons, zitterbewegung is observable via quantum simulation. We engineered an environment for 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates where the constituent atoms behaved like relativistic particles subject to the one-dimensional Dirac equation. With direct imaging, we observed the sub-micrometre trembling motion of these clouds, demonstrating the utility of neutral ultracold quantum gases for simulating Dirac particles.
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ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/15/7/073011