Bouncing motion and penetration dynamics in multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

We investigate dynamic properties of bouncing and penetration in colliding binary and ternary Bose-Einstein condensates comprised of different Zeeman or hyperfine states of 87Rb. Through the application of magnetic field gradient pulses, two- or three-component condensates in an optical trap are spatially separated and then made to collide. The subsequent evolutions are classified into two categories: repeated bouncing motion and mutual penetration after damped bounces. We experimentally observed mutual penetration for immiscible condensates, bouncing between miscible condensates, and domain formation for miscible condensates. From numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we find that the penetration time can be tuned by slightly changing the atomic interaction strengths.