Steady-state quantum statistics of a non-Markovian atom laser

J. J. Hope*, G. M. Moy, M. J. Collett, C. M. Savage

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    65 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We present a fully quantum-mechanical treatment of a single-mode atomic cavity with a pumping mechanism and an output coupling to a continuum of external modes. This system is a schematic description of an atom laser. In the dilute limit where atom-atom interactions are negligible, we have been able to solve this model without making the Born and Markov approximations. When coupling into free space, it is shown that for reasonable parameters there is a bound state which does not disperse, which means that there is no steady state. This bound state does not exist when gravity is included, and in that case the system reaches a steady state. We develop equations of motion for the two-time correlation in the presence of pumping and gravity in the output modes. We then calculate the energy spectrum of the steady-state output flux from the laser. We present a "self-consistent Markov approximation" which allows efficient calculation of this energy spectrum well above threshold.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number023603
    Pages (from-to)236031-2360314
    Number of pages2124284
    JournalPhysical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
    Volume61
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2000

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