Decay of spin-polarized atomic hydrogen in the presence of a Bose condensate

Abstract

We study the decay of magnetically trapped doubly spin-polarized atomic hydrogen in the density and temperature regime of the Bose-Einstein phase transition and calculate the temperature and magnetic field dependence of all relevant relaxation rate constants Gdd→κλ. At the transition temperature Tc the rate constants have a discontinuous second derivative with respect to T. Below Tc they show a pronounced decrease relative to the extrapolated above-Tc values, the observation of which is a clear signal for the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation.