Beyond the usual approximations: time-dependent magnetic traps revisited

In the present work, we report experimental results that clearly demonstrate dynamical phenomena beyond the usual approximations applied to time-orbiting-potential (TOP) traps. The paper is organized as follows: After a brief review of the theory of TOP-traps we describe our experimental apparatus and procedure. In the following sections, experimental results and theoretical considerations concerning the breakdown of the time-averaging and the adiabatic approximations are presented. Finally, we summarize our results and discuss the importance of our findings for atom-trapping and BEC experiments.