Tunnelling and Reflection of Matter-waves by a Repulsive Barrier

ORAL

Abstract

Ultracold atomic systems provide us with a unique opportunity to study matter-waves and their interactions in a controlled environment. The broad Feshbach resonance of $^7$Li atoms in the $|1,1\rangle$ state allows us to tune the scattering length from positive to negative in order to produce quasi-$1$-D bright matter-wave solitons. In our work, we examine reflection and transmission of a degenerate gas at a repulsive barrier, derived from a near-resonant, cylindrically-focussed Gaussian beam, and the effect of interactions is explored by varying the scattering length.

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Authors

  • Jason Nguyen

    Rice University

  • Paul Dyke

    Rice University

  • Alina Blinova

    Rice University, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Henry Luo

    Rice University

  • Randall Hulet

    Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston TX, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005