Damping and revivals of collective oscillations in a finite-temperature model of trapped Bose-Einstein condensation

Abstract

We utilize a two-gas model to simulate collective oscillations of a Bose-Einstein condensate at finite temperatures. The condensate is described using a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which is coupled to a thermal cloud modelled by a Monte Carlo algorithm. This allows us to include the collective dynamics of both the condensed and non-condensed components self-consistently. We simulate quadrupolar excitations, and measure the damping rate and frequency as a function of temperature. We also observe revivals in condensate oscillations at high temperatures, and in the thermal cloud at low temperature. Extensions of the model to include non-equilibrium effects and describe more complex phenomena are discussed.

5 pages, 3 figures