Observation of Quantum Shock Waves Created with Ultra- Compressed Slow Light Pulses in a Bose-Einstein Condensate
Zachary Dutton,12
Michael Budde,13
Christopher Slowe,12
Lene
Vestergaard Hau123
We have used an extension of our slow light technique to provide a
method for inducing small density defects in a Bose-Einstein condensate. These sub- resolution, micrometer-sized defects evolve into large-amplitude sound waves. We present an experimental
observation and theoretical investigation of the resulting breakdown of
superfluidity, and we observe directly the decay of the narrow density
defects into solitons, the onset of the "snake" instability, and
the subsequent nucleation of vortices.
1 Rowland Institute for Science, 100 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
2 Lyman
Laboratory, Department of Physics,
3 Cruft
Laboratory, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
