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Bose–Einstein condensates

Fluctuating fringes

When two one-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensates interfere, they exhibit a fluctuating interference pattern. The full statistical distribution of the interference amplitude can be predicted, thanks to a remarkable connection to several exactly solvable problems.

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Figure 1: Too hard to climb? If each step represents the calculation of a moment, it seems impossible to determine the statistical distribution of the interference amplitude by computing all the moments.

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Oshikawa, M. Fluctuating fringes. Nature Phys 2, 663–664 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys430

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