Photon bubble turbulence in cold atom gases

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Giampaoli, R (Author) Other; Rodrigues, JD (Author) Other; Rodrigues, JA (Author) Other; Mendonca, JT (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Nature Communications

Vol. 12

ISSN: 2041-1723

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 3 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-0H0

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23493-2

Abstract (EN): Turbulent radiation flow is commonplace in systems with strong, incoherent, light-matter interactions. In astrophysical contexts, photon bubble turbulence is considered a key mechanism behind enhanced radiation transport, and its importance has been widely asserted for a variety of high energy objects such as accretion disks and massive stars. Here, we show that analogous conditions to those of dense astrophysical objects can be obtained in large clouds of cold atoms, prepared in a laser-cooling experiment, driven close to a sharp electronic resonance. By accessing the spatially-resolved atom density, we are able to identify a photon bubble instability and the resulting regime of photon bubble turbulence. We also develop a theoretical model describing the coupled dynamics of both photon and atom gases, which accurately describes the statistical properties of the turbulent regime. This study thus opens the possibility of simulating radiation-dominated astrophysical systems in cold atom experiments. Photon bubble turbulence is an astrophysical phenomenon involving radiation transport. Here, the authors report analogous behavior in ultracold gas by observing signatures of photon bubble instabilities in Rb atoms trapped in a MOT.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6