Ultracold Atoms As A Platform for Studying Spin Diffusion

Synopsis

I will describe how a cloud of atomic gas trapped and cooled down to nanokelvin temperatures is used to study thediffusion of the quantum property known as spin. First, we prepare the patterns of atoms in two different hyperfine states of the 87Rb 5S1/2 manifold. We map these states onto a spin-½ system and use microwave Rabi pulses to couple them. Further, to examine the evolution of the initial spin distribution in space and time, absorption imaging is performed. Certain initial spin patterns lead to the initialization of the spin waves in the gas. I will discuss how the quantum exchange collisions and parameters of the initial spin patterns influence the timescale of spin waves.