Heating of a BEC by mechanical perturbation
POSTER
Abstract
We present a model of condensate stirring within the truncated Wigner formalism. A condensate initially at $\mathrm{T}\!=\!0$ is perturbed by a rotating elliptical trapping potential, simulated using a novel numerical algorithm which perfectly conserves condensate band population and (rotating-frame) energy. We discuss the thermalisation of the condensate band and the relation to vortex nucleation, and contrast the results and their interpretation with those of earlier classical field treatments of the stirred-condensate system.