title: Inducing vortices in a Bose-Einstein condensate using holographically produced light beams.
abstract: In this paper we demonstrate a technique that can create non-equilibrium vortex configurations with almost arbitrary charge and geometry in a Bose-Einstein condensate. We coherently transfer orbital angular momentum from a holographically generated light beam to a 87Rb condensate using a two-photon stimulated Raman process. Using matter wave interferometry, we verify the phase pattern imprinted onto the atomic wave function for a single vortex and a vortex-antivortex pair. In addition to their phase winding, the vortices created with this technique have an associated hyperfine spin texture.
authors: MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Hannes.Brachmann@mpq.mpg.de
authors: J F S
authors: JF
authors: Brachmann
authors: W S
authors: WS
authors: Bakr
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Gillen
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Peng
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Greiner
mesh_terms: D006696:Holography / Q000379:methods*; D007368:Interferometry / Q000379:methods*; D008027:Light; D008029:Lighting / Q000379:methods*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation