Vortices and turbulence in trapped atomic condensates

After over a decade of experiments generating and studying the physics of quantized vortices in atomic gas Bose-Einstein condensates, research is beginning to focus on the roles of vortices in quantum turbulence, as well as other measures of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates. Such research directions have the potential to uncover new insights into quantum turbulence, vortices and superfluidity, and also explore the similarities and differences between quantum and classical turbulence in entirely new settings. Here we present a critical assessment of theoretical and experimental studies in this emerging field of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates

Bose-Einstein condensation in the presence of a uniform field and a point-like impurity

The behavior of an ideal $D$-dimensional boson gas in the presence of a uniform gravitational field is analyzed. It is explicitly shown that, contrarily to an old standing folklore, the three-dimensional gas does not undergo Bose-Einstein condensation at finite temperature. On the other hand, Bose-Einstein condensation occurs at $T\neq 0$ for $D=1,2,3$ if there is a point-like impurity at the bottom of the vessel containing the gas.Comment: 14 pages, REVTEX. Revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.