Chunlei Qu, Chris Hamner, Ming Gong, Chuanwei Zhang, Peter Engels
Spin-orbit coupled ultra-cold atoms provide an intriguing new avenue for the study of rich spin dynamics in superfluids. In this Letter, we investigate non-equilibrium spin dynamics in a spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) that are induced by sudden quantum quenches of the Hamiltonian. We observe a broad range of spin dynamics on different time scales, ranging from short time Zitterbewegung oscillations between two spin-orbit coupled bands, to long time spin relaxation and heating of the BEC induced by the interactions between atoms. We also demonstrate how quantum quenches can be exploited to populate a higher spin-orbit band, and observe a subsequent dipole motion. Our experimental results are corroborated by a theoretical and numerical analysis and showcase the great flexibility that ultracold atoms provide for investigating non-equilibrium spin dynamics.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.0658
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