APS » PROLA » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 81 » Issue 24
< Previous article | Next article >

Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5266 - 5269 (1998)

Quantum Kinetic Theory of Condensate Growth: Comparison of Experiment and Theory

Download: PDF (256 kB) or Buy this Article (Use Article Pack) Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

C. W. Gardiner1,4, M. D. Lee1,4, R. J. Ballagh2, M. J. Davis2, and P. Zoller3,4
1School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
2Physics Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
3Institut für theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A6020 Innsbruck, Austria
4Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-4030

Received 25 June 1998

In a major extension of our previous model [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 1793 (1997)] of condensate growth, we take account of the evolution of the occupations of lower trap levels, and of the full Bose-Einstein formula for the occupations of higher trap levels. We find good agreement with experiment, especially at higher temperatures. We also confirm the picture of the “kinetic” region of evolution, introduced by Kagan et al., for the time up to the initiation of the condensate. The behavior after initiation essentially follows our original growth equation, but with a substantially increased rate coefficient W+.


©1998 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5266
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5266
PACS: 03.75.Fi, 31.15.Lc

[ Abstract  |  Previous article  |  Next article  |  Issue 24 ]