Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
Toulouse - UMR 5152

Laser-cooled trapped-atom setups have made it possible to explore, in great detail, real-time non-equilibrium dynamics in collective quantum systems. As a result, understanding quantum evolution in many-particle systems has acquired an urgency not felt in the traditional solid-state or liquid-helium context, where access to real-time dynamics is rare.

I will present three example studies of collective dynamics involving bosonic atoms.

First, I will present the dynamics of a vortex dipole in a non-rotating trapped condensate. I will show how characteristic vortex pair trajectories emerge out of the interplay of trap-induced motion and intrinsic dipole motion.

Second, I will use relatively simple many-boson setups to explore finite-rate ramps which extrapolate between the limits of ``instantaneous’’ quench and ``adiabatic’’ tuning.

Third, for a few bosons in open Bose-Hubbard chains, I will present dynamics inhibition effects arising from the interplay of interactions and the lattice edge.