Dynamics of F=1 Rb87 condensates at finite temperatures

We investigate the dynamics of a F=1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensate of Rb87 atoms confined in a quasi-one-dimensional trap both at zero and at finite temperature. At zero temperature, we observe coherent oscillations between populations of the various spin components and the formation of multiple domains in the condensate. We study also finite temperature effects in the spin dynamics taking into account the phase fluctuations in the Bogoliubov-de Gennes framework. At finite T, despite complex multidomain formation in the condensate, population equipartition occurs. The length scale of these spin domains seems to be determined intrinsically by nonlinear interactions. © 2006 The American Physical Society.