Undamped nonequilibrium dynamics of a nondegenerate Bose gas in a 3D isotropic trap

Abstract

We investigate anomalous damping of the monopole mode of a non-degenerate 3D Bose gas under isotropic harmonic confinement as recently reported by the JILA TOP trap experiment (Lobser et al in preparation). Given a realistic confining potential, we develop a model for studying collective modes that includes the effects of anharmonic corrections to a harmonic potential. By studying the influence of these trap anharmonicities throughout a range of temperatures and collisional regimes, we find that the damping is caused by the joint mechanisms of dephasing and collisional relaxation. Furthermore, the model is complimented by Monte Carlo simulations which are in fair agreement with data from the JILA experiment.