Non equilibrium phase transition with gravitational-like interaction in a cloud of cold atoms

We propose to use a cloud of laser cooled atoms in a quasi two dimensional trap to investigate a non equilibrium collapse phase transition in presence of gravitational-like interaction. Using theoretical arguments and numerical simulations, we show that, like in two dimensional gravity, a transition...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2014, Vol.112 (133001)
Main Authors: Barré, J, Marcos, B, Wilkowski, D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Physics
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We propose to use a cloud of laser cooled atoms in a quasi two dimensional trap to investigate a non equilibrium collapse phase transition in presence of gravitational-like interaction. Using theoretical arguments and numerical simulations, we show that, like in two dimensional gravity, a transition to a collapsed state occurs below a critical temperature. In addition and as a signature of the non equilibrium nature of the system, persistent particles currents, dramatically increasing close to the phase transition, are observed. PACS numbers: 37.10.De, 04.80.Cc, 05.20.Jj, 37.10.Gh
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114