Spinor physics of magnetically trapped atomic quantum gases

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

Atomic quantum gases can be confined in either magnetic or optical traps. The study of spinor physics usually employs optical traps, for example as in active recent efforts of the quantum dynamics for spin mixing inside atomic condensates, and of the BCS to BEC crossover with cooper paired fermionic atoms in distinct Zeeman states. Magnetically trapped atoms are confined in the same internal state that adiabatically follows the local direction of the field. They are not usually considered potential candidates for spinor physics except when more than one Zeeman state can be nearly identically trapped. This study proposes to investigate a new aspect of spinor physics of magnetically trapped atomic quantum gases. Quite generally, we propose that the changing directions of the trap field due to both the requirements of divergence free and curl free make it necessary to consider magnetically trapped atoms as spinors (viewed in any laboratory fixed quantization axis).