Publication
Title
Feynman path-integral treatment of the BEC-impurity polaron
Author
Abstract
The description of an impurity atom in a Bose-Einstein condensate can be cast in the form of Fröhlich's polaron Hamiltonian, where the Bogoliubov excitations play the role of the phonons. An expression for the corresponding polaronic coupling strength is derived, relating the coupling strength to the scattering lengths, the trap size and the number of Bose condensed atoms. This allows to identify several approaches to reach the strong-coupling limit for the quantum gas polarons, whereas this limit was hitherto experimentally inaccessible in solids. We apply Feynman's path-integral method to calculate for all coupling strengths the polaronic shift in the free energy and the increase in the effective mass. The effect of temperature on these quantities is included in the description. We find similarities to the acoustic polaron results and indications of a transition between free polarons and self-trapped polarons. The prospects, based on the current theory, of investigating the polaron physics with ultracold gases are discussed for lithium atoms in a sodium condensate.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Physical review : B : solid state. - Lancaster, Pa, 1970 - 1978
Publication
Lancaster, Pa : 2009
ISSN
0556-2805
DOI
10.1103/PHYSREVB.80.184504
Volume/pages
80 :18 (2009) , p. 184504,1-184501,8
ISI
000272310900092
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 30.11.2009
Last edited 04.03.2024
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