BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION, ITS FORMATION AND

PROPERTIES
(ASSIGNMENT # 02 SEMESTER SPRING 2020)
(Jun 10, 2020)
BY
SAFF E AWAL AKHTAR
16341510-029
PHYS-433 (Atomic and Molecular Physics)
BS-Physics Section A
Dr. Mudassar Miraj
Department of Physics

UNIVERSITY OF GUJRAT

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 Bose Einstein condensation
1. Definition
We all know about four states of matter but there is another one also being fifth state
of matter and known as Bose Einstein condensate. It is collective cooling of atoms at
absolute temperature but at this temperature atoms are hardly succeeded to make
motion relative to each other with almost zero free energy. So at this stage atoms
begin to reach the same lower energy state and become identical from a physical
point of view. Thus those all atoms in a group behave like it were a single atom.

2. History and background

This fifth state of matter was first discovered by Satyendra Nath Bose, theoretically,
who was an Indian physicists and who also discovered bosons. He was working on
statistics of quantum phenomenon and sent these outputs of his work to Einstein who
published the ideas of Bose. On the very serious note his work was published as
Bose’s mathematics but later it was named as Bose-Einstein statistics which were
applied both on light and atoms. Both Einstein and Bose described the fact that atoms
must have certain energies in same level. In real, energy of particles cannot be
arbitrary that’s why electrons have discrete energy of states and release photons when
moving from one energy level to another. But by chilling the atoms at absolute zero
temperature some of them fall into same energy state and thus are indistinguishable
acquiring same properties. This is the reason atoms in Bose-Einstein condensate act
like a super atom and have same properties.[1]

Bose Einstein condensation which is a state of matter was created in 1995 when two
scientists Cornell and Weiman, produced the condensate experimentally for the first
time. This can be get in the way that when we think about word condensation, it is the
same thing just like to condense liquid into solid and gas into liquid and solid. But
BEC is formed by condensing the gaseous atoms into a rigid condensate having
lowest energy than all states of matter. At the time of Bose and Einstein, it was harder
to them to produce this condensate at that time due to lack of technology but now we
can perform this very easily. This condensate is totally opposite state of plasma which
is super-hot and highly excited atoms of gases at highest state of energy. But BEC is
unexcited and super cold atoms of a gas at lowest energy level and lowest
temperature [1]as shown in figure-01 below

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 Fig-01: A Trend Showing States Of Matter With Respect To Energy Level
And Contrasting Behavior Of Plasma And BEC.

[2]

3. Formation of Bose-Einstein condensate

Bose-Einstein condensation has been discussed in many areas of physics but the real
condensation idea came from the super fluidity of liquid helium and excitons in
semiconductor materials. Altering nature of excitations in liquid helium was observed
due to its strong interactions that’s why a big goal was to achieve BEC in a sea of
dilute atomic gases. [3]
a. Cooling the atoms
The major task was to chill the gaseous atoms at a temperature of around one
micro kelvin. During this, it is prevented to let make the solid or liquid state of
matter. Experimental efforts to condense atoms according to predicted theory of
Bose and Einstein, were started more than 20 years ago. A proper process of
condensation was tested by the condensation of hydrogen atoms keeping in a
freezer full of dilution where hydrogen gas atoms were chilled to condensate.
These atoms were trapped in a magnetic field then chilled further through
evaporation mechanism. This mechanism was nearly concise to explain the BE
condensation process.[4]
Two most accepting techniques for this, were cooling technique of hydrogen
atoms and alkalis: where an alkali vapor is firstly cooled by laser then proceed to
evaporative cooling. In evaporative chilling, atoms with high energy are fled
from the model (to be condensed) reducing the energy of the remaining sample.
[5] Thus in combining the said two techniques of chilling the atoms, but however
there was deficiency in utilizing these techniques. So another technique useful in
BEC formation is described as below
b. Magnetic trapping
In this technique, for making evaporative cooling effective, atoms are quarantined
thermally via electromagnetic fields because at highest cool temperature atoms

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 stuck to all available surfaces. For this technique, experiment was done in which
linear quadruples were used to provide steepest possible magnetic field. Magnetic
field can only bound atoms according to their magnetic moments which are in
opposite direction of the field applied, which causes spin flips. These flips cause
atoms to wander and run away from the quarantine. Two expert’s groups working
on the condensation of BEC observed the same thing and were successful. But
there was also a major flaw in this study of condensation which was covered by
providing highly working and effective magnetic field.
In 1996, it was observed that if we use a modern magnetic trap with more
facilities then it can reduce the flaws that were faced in using the simple magnetic
trap. This trap is known as novel cloverleaf magnetic trap (as shown in fig-02)
was first proposed in 1983 and has non-zero magnetic field at its middle to avoid
any discrepancy in loosing trapped atoms during cool temperature provided.

Fig-02: Pictorial View Of The Setup For The Cloverleaf Magnetic Trap
With Central Magnetic Field Avoiding Escape Of Atoms From Trap.

[6]

This confinement via central state of cloverleaf trap, is strong in two directions
but week in the z-direction which results in Cigar-shaped trapped atoms instead
of making their sphere shape.
c. Observing BEC condensation formation
To observe these trapped atoms in magnetic trap is a hard task due to their high
optical thickness and small size. The first condensed matter was studied by
switching magnetic trap off which allowed the super atom (BEC) to move in a
ballistic manner. After this a laser beam whose frequency matches with the
frequency of the transition rates, was flashed on the condensate and expanding
nature of the super atom after ejecting from the trap, as a result of absorption was
observed which was recorded by detectors. At the start of observation there is no
condensation in trap, while after releasing from the trap there was observed a

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 very prominent peak of the atoms, while at a very good condensation (at a very
lower temperature) this peak was more sharp as shown in a fig-03 below,

Fig-03: Pictorial View Of The Observed Condensation Where On The

Left, There Is No Condensation While In Center There Is Prominent
Condensation And Right Side Showed Condensation In A Very Good
Manner At Lowest Temperature.

[7]
This is the formation of a condensate perceived with a “phase contrast imaging”.
4. Properties of the Bose-Einstein condensate
i. When we cool the atoms they act as waves instead of behaving like particles, so the
case with Bose Einstein condensates, they also form a big lump of many atoms and
act like a wave instead of particle. Only it is the waves of all the atoms which merge
and make all the atoms to be condensed at lower temperature. This condensate
behave like the laser light the difference is only of photons. Laser light has photons
but condensate of gases don’t have photons. So instead of having photons it is the
collection of atoms in a union. [8]
ii. Second property is very prominent property of BEC that huge number of atoms
occupy the same state of low energy. This was noticed by the velocity distribution
graph of atoms in the dilute gas solution as shown in figure-04

Fig-04: Graphical View Of Velocity Distribution Of Atoms In Gas During

Condensation.

[9]

This picture showed no condensation on the left side while energy distribution and
condensation are obtained very hard where statistically distributed atoms can be
noticed and on the top of the central peak all the atoms lying in the ground state, can

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 also be observed. While in the right image condensation meet good quality
conditions.

iii. Next property of BEC is its coherence because having this property all the atoms
in the condensate are of same nature and are indistinguishable lying on the same
energy level. Due to these properties condensate act like a super atom and perfect
union.

iv. An important property of the BEC is that it also acquire quantum mechanical
tunneling due to which it can tunnel through all the quantum barriers that could not
overcome by a classical particle. [10]

5. References
1. Dalfovo, F., et al., Theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in trapped gases.
Reviews of Modern Physics, 1999. 71(3): p. 463.
2. Griffin, A., D.W. Snoke, and S. Stringari, Bose-einstein condensation. 1996:
Cambridge University Press.
3. Bloch, I., J. Dalibard, and W. Zwerger, Many-body physics with ultracold
gases. Reviews of modern physics, 2008. 80(3): p. 885.
4. Jochim, S., et al., Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules. Science, 2003.
302(5653): p. 2101-2103.
5. Leggett, A.J., Bose-Einstein condensation in the alkali gases: Some
fundamental concepts. Reviews of Modern Physics, 2001. 73(2): p. 307.
6. Pethick, C.J. and H. Smith, Bose–Einstein condensation in dilute gases.
2008: Cambridge university press.
7. Zwierlein, M.W., et al., Observation of Bose-Einstein condensation of
molecules. Physical review letters, 2003. 91(25): p. 250401.
8. Ketterle, W. and H.-J. Miesner, Coherence properties of Bose-Einstein
condensates and atom lasers. Physical Review A, 1997. 56(4): p. 3291.
9. Penrose, O. and L. Onsager, Bose-Einstein condensation and liquid helium.
Physical Review, 1956. 104(3): p. 576.
10. Pitaevskii, L. and S. Stringari, Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity.
Vol. 164. 2016: Oxford University Press.

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