Abstract

We observe coherent spin oscillations in an antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium. The variation of the spin oscillations with magnetic field shows a clear signature of nonlinearity, in agreement with theory, which also predicts anharmonic oscillations near a critical magnetic field. Measurements of the magnetic phase diagram agree with predictions made in the approximation of a single spatial mode. The oscillation period yields the best measurement to date of the sodium spin-dependent interaction coefficient, determining that the difference between the sodium spin-dependent s-wave scattering lengths a(f=2) - a(f=0) is 2.47 +/- 0.27 Bohr radii.

Publication Details
Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2007
Volume
99
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.070403
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Contributors