Abstract
A theory of quantum ratchets for a particle periodically kicked by a general periodic potential under quantum-resonance conditions is developed for arbitrary values of the conserved quasimomentum β. A special case of this theory is experimentally realized using a BoseEinstein condensate (BEC) exposed to a pulsed standing light wave. While this case corresponds to completely symmetric potential and initial wave-packet, a purely quantum ratchet effect still arises from the generic noncoincidence of the symmetry centers of these two entities. The experimental results agree well with the theory after taking properly into account the finite quasimomentum width of the BEC. This width causes a suppression of the ratchet acceleration occurring for 'resonant' β, so that the mean momentum saturates to a finite ratchet velocity, strongly pronounced relative to that for nonresonant β.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 255-261 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:I. Dana and V. B. Roitberg acknowledge partial support from the Israel Science Foundation (Grant No. 118/05).
Funding
I. Dana and V. B. Roitberg acknowledge partial support from the Israel Science Foundation (Grant No. 118/05).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Israel Science Foundation | 118/05 |
Keywords
- Atom optics
- BoseEinstein condensates
- Kicked particle
- Quantum Hamiltonian ratchets
- Quantum resonances
- Quantum-resonance ratchets under symmetry conditions
- Quasimomentum