Bosenova

A bosenova is a very small, supernova-like explosion, which can be induced in a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) by changing the magnetic field in which the BEC is located, so that the BEC quantum wavefunction's self-interaction becomes attractive.

In the particular experiment when a bosenova was first detected, this procedure caused the BEC to implode and shrink beyond detection, and then suddenly explode. In this explosion, about half of the atoms in the condensate seem to have disappeared from the experiment altogether, remaining undetected either in the cold particle remnants or in the expanding gas cloud produced.

Under current quantum theory, this characteristic of Bose–Einstein condensate remains unexplained, because the energy state of an atom near absolute zero appears to be insufficient to cause the observed implosion. However, subsequent mean-field theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon.

Although the total energy of the explosion is very small, it appears very similar to a tiny supernova, hence the term 'bosenova' - the nomenclature is also partly a play on the Brazilian music style, bossa nova.

The bosenova behavior of a BEC may provide insights into the behavior of a neutron star or a pulsar, as well as in quantum theory in genera

Links

* NIST article on the Bosenova phenomenon