1. Bose-Einstein Condensation in Microgravity
- Author
-
Steven E. Arnold, A. Vogel, Theodor W. Hänsch, Claus Lämmerzahl, Hansjörg Dittus, G. Nandi, Thilo Schuldt, Ernst M. Rasel, Naceur Gaaloul, M. Eckart, Reinhold Walser, W. Lewoczko-Adamczyk, Klaus Sengstock, Y. Singh, Tilo Steinmetz, Max Schiemangk, Wolfgang Ertmer, Holger Ahlers, Jakob Reichel, Endre Kajari, Waldemar Herr, Thorben Könemann, Achim Peters, Stephan Seidel, Kai Bongs, Wolfgang P. Schleich, T. van Zoest, and Hauke Müntinga
- Subjects
Physics ,Multidisciplinary ,General relativity ,Bose-Einstein condensation ,microgravity ,law.invention ,Delocalized electron ,symbols.namesake ,Classical mechanics ,law ,Magnetic trap ,Quantum mechanics ,symbols ,Matter wave ,Einstein ,Wave function ,Quantum ,Bose–Einstein condensate - Abstract
Going Down the Tube Two pillars of modern physics are quantum mechanics and general relativity. So far, both have remained apart with no quantum mechanical description of gravity available. Van Zoest et al. (p. 1540 ; see the Perspective by Nussenzveig and Barata ) present work with a macroscopic quantum mechanical system—a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of rubidium atoms in which the cloud of atoms is cooled into a collective quantum state—in microgravity. By dropping the BEC down a 146-meter-long drop chamber and monitoring the expansion of the quantum gas under these microgravity conditions, the authors provide a proof-of-principle demonstration of a technique that can probe the boundary of quantum mechanics and general relativity and perhaps offer the opportunity to reconcile the two experimentally.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF