Adiabatic output coupling of a Bose gas at finite temperatures

We develop a general theory of adiabatic output coupling from trapped, weakly interacting, atomic Bose-Einstein condensates at finite temperatures. For weak coupling, the output rate from the condensate and the excited levels in the trap settles in a time proportional to the inverse of the spectral width of the coupling to the output modes. We discuss the properties of the output atoms in the quasi-steady-state, where the population inside the trap is not appreciably depleted. We show how the composition of the output beam, containing the condensate and the thermal component, may be controlled by changing the frequency of the output coupling lasers. This composition determines the first- and second-order coherence of the output beam. We discuss the changes in the composition of the Bose gas left in the trap, and show how nonresonant output coupling can stimulate either the evaporation of the thermal excitations in the trap or the growth of the nonthermal excitations. when pairs of correlated atoms leave the condensate.