Effects of atomic interactions on quantum accelerator modes

Abstract

We consider the influence of the inclusion of interatomic interactions on the δ -kicked accelerator model. Our analysis concerns in particular quantum accelerator modes, namely quantum ballistic transport near quantal resonances. The atomic interaction is modeled by a Gross-Pitaevskii cubic nonlinearity, and we address both attractive (focusing) and repulsive (defocusing) cases. The most remarkable effect is enhancement or damping of the accelerator modes, depending on the sign of the nonlinear parameter. We provide arguments showing that the effect persists beyond mean-field description, and lies within the experimentally accessible parameter range. © 2007 The American Physical Society.