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.

*Work supported by the NSF, ONR, and the Welch Foundation

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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