title: Nonequilibrium phase transition with gravitational-like interaction in a cloud of cold atoms.
abstract: We propose to use a cloud of laser-cooled atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional trap to investigate a nonequilibrium collapse phase transition in the presence of a gravitational-like interaction. Using theoretical arguments and numerical simulations, we show that, like in two-dimensional gravity, a transition to a collapsed state occurs below a critical temperature. In addition and as a signature of the nonequilibrium nature of the system, persistent particle currents, dramatically increasing close to the phase transition, are observed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire J.-A. Dieudonné, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, 06109 Nice, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barré
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire J.-A. Dieudonné, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, 06109 Nice, France and Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15051, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marcos
authors.affiliation: Institut Non Linéaire de Nice, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, 06560 Valbonne, France; Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore, Singapore; PAP, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371 Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wilkowski