Disorder-driven loss of phase coherence in a quasi-2D cold atom system

We study the order parameter of a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) gas of ultracold atoms trapped in an optical potential in the presence of controllable disorder. Our results show that disorder drives phase fluctuations without significantly affecting the amplitude of the quasi-condensate order parameter. This is evidence that disorder can drive phase fluctuations in 2D systems, relevant to the phase-fluctuation mechanism for the superconductor-to-insulator phase transition (SIT) in disordered 2D superconductors. (paper)