Polytropic equilibrium and normal modes in cold atomic traps

Abstract

The compressibility limit of a cold gas confined in a magneto-optical trap due to multiple scattering of light is a long-standing problem. This scattering mechanism induces long-range interactions in the system, which is responsible for the occurrence of plasma-like phenomena. In the present paper, we investigate the importance of the long-range character of the mediated atom-atom interaction in the equilibrium and dynamical features of a magneto-optical trap. Making use of a hydrodynamical formulation, we derive a generalized Lane-Emden equation modeling the polytropic equilibirum of a magneto-optical trap, allowing us to describe the cross-over between the two limiting cases: temperature dominated and multiple-scattering dominated traps. The normal collective modes of the system are also computed.

References in corpus (5)

• Theory of surface plasmons and surface-plasmon polaritons
• Collective oscillations in ultracold atomic gases
• A phonon laser in ultra-cold matter
• Driven collective instabilities in magneto-optical traps: a fluid-dynamical approach
• Classical Rotons in Cold Atomic Traps

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Bump-on-tail instability of twisted excitations in rotating cold atomic clouds
• Equation of state of a laser cooled gas
• Twisted Phonons in Bose-Einstein condensates
• Towards a measurement of the Debye length in very large Magneto-Optical traps
• Anisotropic long-range interaction investigated with cold atoms
• Stability analysis of orbital modes for a generalized Lane-Emden equation