Observation of subdiffusion in a disordered interacting system.

We study the transport dynamics of matter-waves in the presence of disorder and nonlinearity. An atomic Bose-Einstein condensate that is localized in a quasiperiodic lattice in the absence of atom-atom interaction shows instead a slow expansion with a subdiffusive behavior when a controlled repulsive interaction is added. The measured features of the subdiffusion are compared to numerical simulations and a heuristic model. The observations confirm the nature of subdiffusion as interaction-assisted hopping between localized states and highlight a role of the spatial correlation of the disorder.

Magnetic dipolar interaction in a Bose-Einstein condensate atomic interferometer.

We study the role played by the magnetic dipole interaction in the decoherence of a lattice-based interferometer that employs an alkali Bose-Einstein condensate with a tunable scattering length. The different behavior we observe for two different orientations of the dipoles gives us evidence of the anisotropic character of the interaction. The experiment is correctly reproduced by a model we develop only if the long-range interaction between different lattice sites is taken into account. Our model indicates that dipolar interaction can be compensated by a proper choice of the scattering length and that the magnetic dipole interaction should not represent an obstacle for atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates with a tunable interaction.