Observation of dipole-dipole interaction in a degenerate quantum gas

J. Stuhler 1, A. Griesmaier 1, T. Koch 1, M. Fattori 1, T. Pfau 1, S. Giovanazzi 2, P. Pedri 3, 4, L. M.N.B.F. Santos 3

Physical Review Letters 95 (2005) 150406

We have investigated the expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of strongly magnetic chromium atoms. The long-range and anisotropic magnetic dipole-dipole interaction leads to an anisotropic deformation of the expanding Cr-BEC which depends on the orientation of the atomic dipole moments. Our measurements are consistent with the theory of dipolar quantum gases and show that a Cr-BEC is an excellent model system to study dipolar interactions in such gases.

  • 1. Physikalisches Institut,
    Universitat Stuttgart
  • 2. Physikalisches Institut,
    Universitat Tubingen
  • 3. Institut fur Theoretische Physik III,
    Universitat Stuttgart
  • 4. Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques (LPTMS),
    CNRS : UMR8626 – Université Paris XI – Paris Sud
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