Transport of dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a one-dimensional optical lattice

Abstract

We show that magnetic dipolar interactions can stabilize superfluidity in atomic gases but the dipole alignment direction required to achieve this varies, depending on whether the flow is oscillatory or continuous. If a condensate is made to oscillate through a lattice, damping of the oscillations can be reduced by aligning the dipoles perpendicular to the direction of motion. However, if a lattice is driven continuously through the condensate, superfluid behavior is best preserved when the dipoles are aligned parallel to the direction of motion. We explain these results in terms of the formation of topological excitations and tunnel barrier heights between lattice sites.