title: Direct nondestructive imaging of magnetization in a spin-1 Bose-Einstein gas.
abstract: Polarization-dependent phase-contrast imaging is used to resolve the spatial magnetization profile of an optically trapped ultracold gas. This probe is applied to Larmor precession of degenerate and nondegenerate spin-1 87Rb gases. Transverse magnetization of the Bose-Einstein condensate persists for the condensate lifetime, with a spatial response to magnetic field inhomogeneities consistent with a mean-field model of interactions. In comparison, the magnetization of the non-condensed gas decoheres rapidly. Rotational symmetry implies that the Larmor frequency of a spinor condensate be density independent, and thus suitable for precise magnetometry with high spatial resolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Higbie
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Sadler
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inouye
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Chikkatur
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Savalli
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Stamper-Kurn