We present observations of quantum depletion in expanding condensates released from a harmonic trap. We confirm experimental observations of slowly-decaying tails in the far-field beyond the thermal component, consistent with the survival of the quantum depletion. Our measurements support the hypothesis that the depletion survives the expansion, and even appears stronger in the far-field than expected before release based on the Bogoliubov theory. This result is in conflict with the hydrodynamic theory which predicts that the in-situ depletion does not survive when atoms are released from a trap. Simulations of our experiment show that the depletion should indeed survive into the far field and become stronger. However, while in qualitative agreement, the final depletion observed in the experiment is much larger than in the simulation. In light of the predicted power-law decay of the momentum density, we discuss general issues inherent in characterizing power laws.
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