Quantum threshold for optomechanical self-structuring in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 May 1;114(17):173903. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.173903. Epub 2015 May 1.

Abstract

Theoretical analysis of the optomechanics of degenerate bosonic atoms with a single feedback mirror shows that self-structuring occurs only above an input threshold that is quantum mechanical in origin. This threshold also implies a lower limit to the size (period) of patterns that can be produced in a condensate for a given pump intensity. These thresholds are interpreted as due to the quantum rigidity of Bose-Einstein condensates, which has no classical counterpart. Above the threshold, the condensate self-organizes into an ordered supersolid state with a spatial period self-selected by optical diffraction.