Tuesday | 12.12.06 | 4:00 p.m. | Harvard Jefferson 356

Lorraine Sadler (Berkeley)

Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates: Precision Measurements and Phase Transitions

In this talk I will concentrate on two aspects of our work in a 87Rb spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. First, we demonstrate a precision magnetometer with high spatial resolution. Second, we study the dynamics of this spinor system as it is quenched through a quantum phase transition. Both avenues of research are based on a new experimental technique that enables us to measure the magnetization of an F=1 dilute gas through the direct imaging of Larmor precession within the cloud.