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  • Quantum-Fluctuation-Driven ...
    Chomaz, L.; Baier, S.; Petter, D.; Mark, M. J.; Wächtler, F.; Santos, L.; Ferlaino, F.

    Physical review. X, 11/2016, Letnik: 6, Številka: 4
    Journal Article

    In a joint experimental and theoretical effort, we report on the formation of a macrodroplet state in an ultracold bosonic gas of erbium atoms with strong dipolar interactions. By precise tuning of the s -wave scattering length below the so-called dipolar length, we observe a smooth crossover of the ground state from a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate to a dense macrodroplet state of more than 2×104atoms . Based on the study of collective excitations and loss features, we prove that quantum fluctuations stabilize the ultracold gas far beyond the instability threshold imposed by mean-field interactions. Finally, we perform expansion measurements, showing that although self-bound solutions are prevented by losses, the interplay between quantum stabilization and losses results in a minimal time-of-flight expansion velocity at a finite scattering length.