Experimental protocol for characterizing quantum scars in a ⁸⁷Rb spinor Bose—Einstein condensate

Spinor Bose­­­­—Einstein condensates (BECs) present an interesting platform for studying the relationship between regular states, states with quantum many-body scars (QMBS) that violate the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, and states with quantum scarring caused by unstable periodic orbits [1]. Here, we consider the experimental feasibility of using a ⁸⁷Rb F = 1 spinor BEC in a far-detuned harmonic optical trap to study the relationship between these states. We examine the possibility of using radiofrequency (RF) fields to dress the states and suppress their magnetic field sensitivity, allowing for longer measurements to better characterize state behavior such as revivals within QMBS states. We also consider the trapping of BECs within an array of spin-dependent microtraps where RF fields are used to realize an atom number-dependent outcoupling process to narrow the array’s atom-number distribution.

[1] B. Evrard, A. Pizzi, S.I. Mistakidis, and C.B. Dag, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 020401 (2024).