Analysing spatiotemporal instabilities in magneto-optical traps with the tools of turbulence theory

A large cloud of Rb-87 atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap exhibits, in a certain regime of parameters, spatiotemporal instabilities with a dynamics resembling that of a turbulent fluid. We apply the methods of turbulence theory based on structure function analysis to extract scaling exponents which are compared to known turbulent regimes. This analysis also allows us to make a clear distinction between different instability regimes.

Automated summary

In a certain parameter regime, a large cloud of confined Rb-87 atoms in a magneto-optical trap exhibits spatiotemporal instabilities resembling that of a turbulent fluid. We utilize turbulence theory and structure function analysis to extract scaling exponents and compare them to known turbulent regimes, allowing for clear distinction between different instability regimes.