Kinetics of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Trap
Abstract
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 n = 2W(n)[(1-exp((mu_n - mu)/kT))n + 1] is derived, in which the difference between the condensate chemical potential mu_n and the bath chemical potential mu gives the essential behavior. Solutions of this equation, in conjunction with the theoretical description of the process of evaporative cooling, give a characteristic latency period for condensate formation and appear to be consistent with the observed behavior of both rubidium and sodium condensate formation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/9707037,
title = {Kinetics of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Trap},
author = {C. W. Gardiner and P. Zoller and R. J. Ballagh and M. J. Davis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/9707037},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
9 pages, Revtex