Observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in an atomic trap in terms of macroscopic thermodynamic parameters

To overcome the difficulties in defining pressure for a gas confined in an inhomogeneous trap, we define single macroscopic parameters that behave like pressure and volume. We measure the phase diagram of a super(87)Rb Bose gas in a harmonic trap in terms of those macroscopic parameters obtained fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2012-02, Vol.85 (2), Article 023632
Main Authors: Romero-Rochin, V., Shiozaki, R. F., Caracanhas, M., Henn, E. A. L., Magalhães, K. M. F., Roati, G., Bagnato, V. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Approximation
Atomic properties
Condensing
Mathematical analysis
Phase diagrams
Phase transformations
Spatial distribution
Thermodynamics
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Summary:To overcome the difficulties in defining pressure for a gas confined in an inhomogeneous trap, we define single macroscopic parameters that behave like pressure and volume. We measure the phase diagram of a super(87)Rb Bose gas in a harmonic trap in terms of those macroscopic parameters obtained from the spatial distribution of atoms. Considering the relevant variables such as the trap potential V( omega sub(x) omega sub(y) omega sub(z)) super(1), number of atoms N, and temperature T, a parameter II=II(N, V, T) is introduced to characterize the overall macroscopic pressure of the system. We construct the phase diagram (II vs T) identifying the main features related to the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) transition in a trapped gas. A thermodynamic description of the phase transition based on purely macroscopic parameters provides us with a description that does not need the local-density approximation. This procedure can be used to explore different aspects related to BEC such as the nature of the phase transition in a trapped gas.
ISSN:1050-2947
1094-1622
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.85.023632