Studying spin dynamics in a 23Na F=1 spinor Bose gas

Abstract

In this project, we attempt to simulate, create, and image a spin-1 sodium spinor BEC. Theory for the simulations is developed in a mean-field theory framework with two-body scattering, and a ground state phase diagram is layed out. The inventive combination of real-time propagation with a time-splitting pseudospectral scheme and an imaginary-time damping term makes for interesting dynamical simulations. The system is very sensitive to both magnetic fields and damping terms, and less so to initial functions. The parameter space from the simulations helps us interpret the lab observations. The development of a new spin-dependent off-axis holography imaging method will be a substantial contribution to ultracold physics, and is nearly complete. The laboratory setup is made ready to start experimentation. We've set up a trapping mechanism for the sodium atoms and explored different configurations of spin states through radiofrequency sweeps.