Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 1793 - 1796 (1997)

Kinetics of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Trap

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C. W. Gardiner1, P. Zoller2, R. J. Ballagh3, and M. J. Davis3
1Physics Department, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
2Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
3Physics Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Received 2 May 1997

The formation process of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a trap is described using a master equation based on quantum kinetic theory, which can be well approximated by a description using only the condensate mode in interaction with a thermalized bath of noncondensate atoms. A rate equation of the form ṅ  =  2W+(n)[(1-en-μ}/kT)n+1] is derived, in which the difference between the condensate chemical potential μn and the bath chemical potential μ gives the essential behavior. Solutions of this equation give a characteristic latency period for condensate formation and appear to be consistent with the observed behavior of both rubidium and sodium condensate formation.


©1997 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.1793
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.1793
PACS: 03.75.Fi, 05.30.Jp, 51.10.+y

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