Low-Energy Collective Excitation of Bose-Einstein Condensates in an Anisotropic Magnetic Trap

We experimentally investigate the collective excitation of Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates confined in a cigar-shaped magnetic trap (QUIC trap). Using a method of magnetic perturbation, the center-of-mass oscillation of the condensate is excited, so that the radial trapping frequency of the QUIC trap can be precisely determined. A high-order excitation, characterized by a fast shape oscillation, also occurs simultaneously, with a noticeable damping in the oscillation amplitude compared with the oscillation of the center of mass. The measured oscillation frequencies, associated with these two low-energy excitation modes, agree well with theoretical predictions based on the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.