29 research outputs found
Vortex nucleation in Bose-Einstein condensates in time-dependent traps
Vortex nucleation in a Bose-Einstein condensate subject to a stirring
potential is studied numerically using the zero-temperature, two-dimensional
Gross-Pitaevskii equation. It is found that this theory is able to describe the
creation of vortices, but not the crystallization of a vortex lattice. In the
case of a rotating, slightly anisotropic harmonic potential, the numerical
results reproduce experimental findings, thereby showing that finite
temperatures are not necessary for vortex excitation below the quadrupole
frequency. In the case of a condensate subject to stirring by a narrow rotating
potential, the process of vortex excitation is described by a classical model
that treats the multitude of vortices created by the stirrer as a continuously
distributed vorticity at the center of the cloud, but retains a potential flow
pattern at large distances from the center.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. Changes after referee report: one new figure,
new refs. No conclusions altere
Fractal Noise in Quantum Ballistic and Diffusive Lattice Systems
We demonstrate fractal noise in the quantum evolution of wave packets moving
either ballistically or diffusively in periodic and quasiperiodic tight-binding
lattices, respectively. For the ballistic case with various initial
superpositions we obtain a space-time self-affine fractal which
verify the predictions by Berry for "a particle in a box", in addition to
quantum revivals. For the diffusive case self-similar fractal evolution is also
obtained. These universal fractal features of quantum theory might be useful in
the field of quantum information, for creating efficient quantum algorithms,
and can possibly be detectable in scattering from nanostructures.Comment: 9 pages, 8 postscript figure
Skyrmion Excitation in Two-Dimensional Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate
We study the properties of coreless vortices(skyrmion) in spinor
Bose-Einstein condensate. We find that this excitation is always energetically
unstable, it always decays to an uniform spin texture. We obtain the skyrmion
energy as a function of its size and position, a key quantity in understanding
the decay process. We also point out that the decay rate of a skyrmion with
high winding number will be slower. The interaction between skyrmions and other
excitation modes are also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, final version published in Phys. Rev.
Splitting of a doubly quantized vortex through intertwining in Bose-Einstein condensates
The stability of doubly quantized vortices in dilute Bose-Einstein
condensates of 23Na is examined at zero temperature. The eigenmode spectrum of
the Bogoliubov equations for a harmonically trapped cigar-shaped condensate is
computed and it is found that the doubly quantized vortex is spectrally
unstable towards dissection into two singly quantized vortices. By numerically
solving the full three-dimensional time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, it
is found that the two singly quantized vortices intertwine before decaying.
This work provides an interpretation of recent experiments [A. E. Leanhardt et
al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 190403 (2002)].Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (to be published in PRA
Stabilization and pumping of giant vortices in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates
Recently, it was shown that giant vortices with arbitrarily large quantum
numbers can possibly be created in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates by
cyclically pumping vorticity into the condensate. However, multiply quantized
vortices are typically dynamically unstable in harmonically trapped nonrotated
condensates, which poses a serious challenge to the vortex pump procedure. In
this theoretical study, we investigate how the giant vortices can be stabilized
by the application of a Gaussian potential peak along the vortex core. We find
that achieving dynamical stability is feasible up to high quantum numbers. To
demonstrate the efficiency of the stabilization method, we simulate the
adiabatic creation of an unsplit 20-quantum vortex with the vortex pump.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys., online
publication available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10909-010-0216-
Kink propagation in a two-dimensional curved Josephson junction
We consider the propagation of sine-Gordon kinks in a planar curved strip as
a model of nonlinear wave propagation in curved wave guides. The homogeneous
Neumann transverse boundary conditions, in the curvilinear coordinates, allow
to assume a homogeneous kink solution. Using a simple collective variable
approach based on the kink coordinate, we show that curved regions act as
potential barriers for the wave and determine the threshold velocity for the
kink to cross. The analysis is confirmed by numerical solution of the 2D
sine-Gordon equation.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures (2 in color
Surface Effects in Magnetic Microtraps
We have investigated Bose-Einstein condensates and ultra cold atoms in the
vicinity of a surface of a magnetic microtrap. The atoms are prepared along
copper conductors at distances to the surface between 300 um and 20 um. In this
range, the lifetime decreases from 20 s to 0.7 s showing a linear dependence on
the distance to the surface. The atoms manifest a weak thermal coupling to the
surface, with measured heating rates remaining below 500 nK/s. In addition, we
observe a periodic fragmentation of the condensate and thermal clouds when the
surface is approached.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2: corrected references; v3: final versio
A fundamental limit for integrated atom optics with Bose-Einstein condensates
The dynamical response of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate manipulated by
an integrated atom optics device such as a microtrap or a microfabricated
waveguide is studied. We show that when the miniaturization of the device
enforces a sufficiently high condensate density, three-body interactions lead
to a spatial modulational instability that results in a fundamental limit on
the coherent manipulation of Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Observer dependence for the phonon content of the sound field living on the effective curved space-time background of a Bose-Einstein condensate
We demonstrate that the ambiguity of the particle content for quantum fields
in a generally curved space-time can be experimentally investigated in an
ultracold gas of atoms forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. We explicitly
evaluate the response of a suitable condensed matter detector, an ``Atomic
Quantum Dot,'' which can be tuned to measure time intervals associated to
different effective acoustic space-times. It is found that the detector
response related to laboratory, ``adiabatic,'' and de Sitter time intervals is
finite in time and nonstationary, vanishing, and thermal, respectively.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures; references updated, as published in Physical
Review
Persistent currents in a Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of disorder
We examine bosonic atoms that are confined in a toroidal,
quasi-one-dimensional trap, subjected to a random potential. The resulting
inhomogeneous atomic density is smoothened for sufficiently strong, repulsive
interatomic interactions. Statistical analysis of our simulations show that the
gas supports persistent currents, which become more fragile due to the
disorder.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 3 figures, revised version, to appear in JLT