Direct observation of zitterbewegung in a Bose–Einstein condensate

Zitterbewegung, a force-free trembling motion first predicted for relativistic fermions like electrons, was an unexpected consequence of the Dirac equation's unification of quantum mechanics and special relativity. Though the oscillatory motion's large frequency and small amplitude have precluded its measurement with electrons, zitterbewegung is observable via quantum simulation. We engineered an environment for 87Rb Bose–Einstein condensates where the constituent atoms behaved like relativistic particles subject to the one-dimensional Dirac equation. With direct imaging, we observed the sub-micrometre trembling motion of these clouds, demonstrating the utility of neutral ultracold quantum gases for simulating Dirac particles.

• Publication year

  2013

• Venue

  New Journal of Physics

• Publication date

  2013-03-05

• Fields of study

  Physics

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1088/1367-2630/15/7/073011arXiv 1303.0914
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Bose-Hubbard models with synthetic spin-orbit coupling: Mott insulators, spin textures, and superfluidity.

  2012cited by this paper
• Synthetic Partial Waves in Ultracold Atomic Collisions

  2012cited by this paper
• Exotic quantum spin models in spin-orbit-coupled Mott insulators.

  2012cited by this paper
• Composite fermion state of spin-orbit coupled bosons

  2012cited by this paper
• Propagation of a relativistic electron wave packet in the Dirac equation

  2012cited by this paper
• Stability of excited dressed states with spin-orbit coupling

  2012cited by this paper
• Klein tunneling of a quasirelativistic Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice.

  2011cited by this paper
• ZITTERBEWEGUNG IS NOT AN OBSERVABLE

  2011cited by this paper
• Zitterbewegung (trembling motion) of electrons in semiconductors: a review

  2011cited by this paper
• Spin–orbit-coupled Bose–Einstein condensates

  2011cited by this paper
• Creating, moving and merging Dirac points with a Fermi gas in a tunable honeycomb lattice

  2011cited by this paper
• Mean-field dynamics of spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensates.

  2011cited by this paper
• Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate in a tilted optical lattice

  2010cited by this paper
• Atomic Bloch-Zener oscillations and Stückelberg interferometry in optical lattices.

  2010cited by this paper
• The hyperspherical four-fermion problem

  2010cited by this paper
• Classical simulation of relativistic Zitterbewegung in photonic lattices.

  2010cited by this paper
• Driven Dirac-like equation via mirror oscillation: Controlled cold-atom Zitterbewegung

  2010cited by this paper
• General theory of Zitterbewegung

  2009cited by this paper
• Raman processes and effective gauge potentials

  2009cited by this paper
• Quantum simulation of the Dirac equation

  2009cited by this paper
• Atomic Zitterbewegung

  2008cited by this paper
• Fractional spin Hall effect in atomic Bose gases

  2007cited by this paper
• Strong saturation absorption imaging of dense clouds of ultracold atoms.

  2007cited by this paper
• Observing Zitterbewegung for photons near the Dirac point of a two-dimensional photonic crystal.

  2007cited by this paper
• Quasirelativistic behavior of cold atoms in light fields

  2007cited by this paper
• Chiral tunnelling and the Klein paradox in graphene

  2006cited by this paper
• Zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in III-V zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells.

  2005cited by this paper
• Nonadiabatic loading of a Bose-Einstein condensate into the ground state of an optical lattice

  2003cited by this paper
• Decoherence and dephasing in strongly driven colliding Bose-Einstein condensates

  2003cited by this paper
• Particle number fractionalization of an atomic Fermi-Dirac gas in an optical lattice.

  2002cited by this paper
• Neutrino Masses and Mixing: Evidence and Implications

  2002cited by this paper
• Spontaneous symmetry breaking, gauge theories, the Higgs mechanism and all that

  1974cited by this paper
• Zitterbewegung of quasiparticles in superconductors

  1970cited by this paper

• The Zitterbewegung in the Bivector Standard Model

  2026cites this paper
• An Exact Analytical Method for Arbitrary Matter-Waveform Generation in Optical Lattices

  2026cites this paper
• Non-self-adjoint Dirac operators on graphs

  2025cites this paper
• Solitons in Arbitrary Dimensions Stabilized by Photon-Mediated Interactions.

  2025cites this paper
• Gyromagnetics of the Electron Clock

  2025cites this paper
• Link of the Zitterbewegung with the spin conductivity and the spin-textures of multiband systems

  2025cites this paper
• Many-Body Gap Protection against Motional Dephasing of an Optical Clock Transition.

  2025cites this paper
• Experimental simulation of Dirac equation in superconducting qubits

  2025cites this paper
• Experimental realization of a SU(3) color-orbit coupling in an ultracold gas

  2025cites this paper
• Optical Zitterbewegung effect in arrays of helical waveguides

  2024cites this paper
• Experimental study of the solutions of the Lippmann–Schwinger equation for an elliptical billiard with an intense laser beam

  2024cites this paper
• Trembling Motion of Exciton Polaritons Close to the Rashba-Dresselhaus Regime.

  2024cites this paper
• Re-assessing special aspects of Dirac fermions in presence of Lorentz-symmetry violation

  2024cites this paper
• Experimental scheme for determining the Berry phase in two-dimensional quantum materials with a flat band

  2024cites this paper
• Hamiltonian mapping and quantum perturbation equations in the point matter black hole and noncommutative black hole models

  2024cites this paper
• On Hypothetical Factors Limiting the Operation of Nanoelectronic Devices: the Zitterbewegung

  2024cites this paper
• Symmetry Breaking and Dynamic Transition in the Negative Mass Term Klein-Gordon Equations

  2024cites this paper
• Преобразование гамильтонианов и уравнения квантовых возмущений в моделях точечной черной дыры и некоммутативной черной дыры

  2024cites this paper
• Intrinsic Squeezing of Mechanical Motion of a Harmonically Trapped Atom with Spin-Orbit Coupling

  2024cites this paper
• Emergent Long-Lived Zitterbewegung in Su–Schrieffer–Heeger Lattice with Third-Nearest-Neighbor Hopping

  2023cites this paper
• Dynamical properties of quasiparticles in a tunable Kekulé graphene superlattice

  2023cites this paper
• The importance of geometric algebra in the language of physics

  2023cites this paper
• Ground State Quantum Vortex Proton Model

  2023cites this paper
• The zitterbewegung electron puzzle

  2023cites this paper
• Analogies for Dirac fermions physics in graphene

  2023cites this paper
• A higher-order topological twist on cold-atom SO($5$) Dirac fields

  2023cites this paper
• Simulation of Dirac particles with quantum interference in phase space

  2022cites this paper
• Link between Zitterbewegung and topological phase transitions

  2022cites this paper
• Current density of Majorana bound states

  2022cites this paper
• Ballistic transport of a polariton ring condensate with spin precession

  2022cites this paper
• The Impact of Stochastic Wavefunction Evolution in Dispersively Measured Bose-Einstein Condensates

  2022cites this paper
• Optical conductivity of semi-Dirac and pseudospin-1 models: Zitterbewegung approach

  2022cites this paper
• Evolution of an ultracold gas in a non-Abelian gauge field: finite temperature effect

  2022cites this paper
• Anisotropic Zitterbewegung Dynamics in Synthetic Non-Abelian Gauge Fields

  2022cites this paper
• On Time(s) in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Gravity: the demise of Pauli’s objection and an integrating new perspective

  2022cites this paper
• Photonic quantum simulations of coupled PT -symmetric Hamiltonians

  2022cites this paper
• Floquet Engineering Topological Dirac Bands.

  2022cites this paper
• Wave Packet Dynamics in Synthetic Non-Abelian Gauge Fields.

  2022cites this paper
• Revealing inherent quantum interference and entanglement of a Dirac particle

  2022cites this paper
• Revealing inherent quantum interference and entanglement of a Dirac Fermion

  2022cites this paper
• Quantum back-action limits in dispersively measured Bose-Einstein condensates

  2022cites this paper
• Hyperbolic matter in electrical circuits with tunable complex phases

  2022cites this paper
• Universal semiclassical equations based on the quantum metric for a two-band system

  2021cites this paper
• EXTRACTION OF ENERGY FROM THE VACUUM IN SED: THEORETICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL MODELS AND LIMITATIONS

  2021cites this paper
• Bohmian Zitterbewegung

  2021cites this paper
• On the Problem of Time(s) in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Gravity: recent integrating developments and outlook

  2021cites this paper
• Valley-driven Zitterbewegung in Kekulé-distorted graphene

  2021cites this paper
• Wavepacket Self‐Rotation and Helical Zitterbewegung in Symmetry‐Broken Honeycomb Lattices

  2021cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung of Moiré Excitons in Twisted MoS_{2}/WSe_{2} Heterobilayers.

  2021cites this paper
• On the Problem of Time(s) in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Gravity: the demise of Pauli’s objection and an integrating new perspective Special Issue on Quantum Physics

  2021cites this paper
• Quantum Atom Optics: Theory and Applications to Quantum Technology

  2020cites this paper
• Proper relativistic position operators in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions

  2020cites this paper
• Quantum walks and Dirac cellular automata on a programmable trapped-ion quantum computer

  2020cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung and Klein-tunneling phenomena for transient quantum waves

  2020cites this paper
• Effect of zitterbewegung on the propagation of wave packets in ABC-stacked multilayer graphene: an analytical and computational approach

  2020cites this paper
• Simulating the Majorana dynamics with ultracold atomic gases in a bilayer honeycomb lattice

  2020cites this paper
• Confinement and Zitterbewegung in a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate with a spatially localized Raman coupling

  2020cites this paper
• Bound states of spin–orbit coupled cold atoms in a Dirac delta-function potential

  2020cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung-mediated RKKY coupling in topological insulator thin films

  2020cites this paper
• Valley-dependent wavepacket self-rotation and Zitterbewegung in symmetry-broken honeycomb lattices.

  2020cites this paper
• Coherence and decoherence in the Harper-Hofstadter model

  2020cites this paper
• Classical and Quantum Light: Versatile tools for quantum foundations and quantum information

  2020cites this paper
• A time operator in the simulations of the Dirac equation

  2019cites this paper
• de Broglie clock, electron channeling, and time in quantum mechanics

  2019cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung in noncommutative geometry

  2019cites this paper
• Effective Zitterbewegung of bosonic Bogoliubov quasi-particle with effective spin-orbital coupling

  2019cites this paper
• Optical radiation induced chaotic dynamics of electrons in a uniform magnetic field

  2019cites this paper
• Exact nonlinear dynamics of Spinor BECs applied to nematic quenches

  2019cites this paper
• Chaotic transport of electron wave packet in Weyl semimetal slab.

  2019cites this paper
• Wave-packet dynamics in multilayer phosphorene

  2019cites this paper
• Recent advances in spin-orbit coupled quantum gases

  2019cites this paper
• Floquet oscillations in periodically driven Dirac systems

  2019cites this paper
• Quantum Mechanics of the electron particle-clock

  2019cites this paper
• Optical simulation of the free Dirac equation

  2019cites this paper
• Bloch oscillations of spin-orbit-coupled cold atoms in an optical lattice and spin-current generation

  2019cites this paper
• Steering Zitterbewegung in driven Dirac systems: From persistent modes to echoes

  2019cites this paper
• Dynamical properties of quasiparticles emerged in a nodal ring optical lattice

  2019cites this paper
• Sauter-Schwinger effect with a quantum gas

  2019cites this paper
• Exotic complexes in one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates with spin-orbit coupling

  2018cites this paper
• Maxwell-Like Equations for Free Dirac Electrons

  2018cites this paper
• Topological quantum matter with cold atoms

  2018cites this paper
• Tunable spin superstripe phase with a long period and high visibility

  2018cites this paper
• Collective dipole oscillations of a spin-orbit coupled Fermi gas

  2018cites this paper
• Measurement and significance of Wilson loops in synthetic gauge fields

  2018cites this paper
• Dirac equation in exotic spacetimes

  2018cites this paper
• Relativistic Measurement Backaction in the Quantum Dirac Oscillator.

  2018cites this paper
• Tunable spin-orbit coupling and magnetic superstripe phase in a Bose-Einstein condensate

  2018cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung of Spin Split Electrons

  2018cites this paper
• Momentum-induced Zitterbewegung of massless relativistic quasiparticles emreged in an optical lattice

  2018cites this paper
• Generalized lattice Wilson–Dirac fermions in (1 + 1) dimensions for atomic quantum simulation and topological phases

  2018cites this paper
• Trembling motion of the wave packet in armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs)

  2018cites this paper
• Scattering of solitons in binary Bose–Einstein condensates with spin-orbit and Rabi couplings

  2018cites this paper
• Artificial gauge fields in materials and engineered systems

  2017cites this paper
• Clean Floquet Time Crystals: Models and Realizations in Cold Atoms.

  2017cites this paper
• Conductance fluctuations in InAs quantum wells possibly driven by Zitterbewegung

  2017cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung in time-reversal Weyl semimetals

  2017cites this paper
• Dynamics of a quasiparticle in the α-T3 model: role of pseudospin polarization and transverse magnetic field on zitterbewegung

  2017cites this paper
• Experimental realization of a relativistic harmonic oscillator

  2017cites this paper
• Synthesis of Majorana mass terms in low-energy quantum systems

  2017cites this paper
• Zitterbewegung near new Dirac points in graphene superlattices

  2017cites this paper