16 research outputs found
Gyroscopic motion of superfluid trapped atomic condensates
The gyroscopic motion of a trapped Bose gas containing a vortex is studied.
We model the system as a classical top, as a superposition of coherent
hydrodynamic states, by solution of the Bogoliubov equations, and by
integration of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The frequency
spectrum of Bogoliubov excitations, including quantum frequency shifts, is
calculated and the quantal precession frequency is found to be consistent with
experimental results, though a small discrepancy exists. The superfluid
precession is found to be well described by the classical and hydrodynamic
models. However the frequency shifts and helical oscillations associated with
vortex bending and twisting require a quantal treatment. In gyroscopic
precession, the vortex excitation modes are the dominant features
giving a vortex kink or bend, while the is found to be the dominant
Kelvin wave associated with vortex twisting.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Consequence of superfluidity on the expansion of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate
We study the time evolution of a rotating condensate, that expands after
being suddenly released from the confining trap, by solving the hydrodynamic
equations of irrotational superfluids. For slow initial rotation speeds,
, we find that the condensate's angular velocity increases rapidly
to a maximum value and this is accompanied by a minimum in the deformation of
the condensate in the rotating plane. During the expansion the sample makes a
global rotation of approximately , where the exact value depends on
. This minimum deformation can serve as an easily detectable
signature of superfluidity in a Bose--Einstein condensate.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Superfluid and Dissipative Dynamics of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a Periodic Optical Potential
We create Bose-Einstein condensates of 87-rubidium in a static magnetic trap
with a superimposed blue-detuned 1D optical lattice. By displacing the magnetic
trap center we are able to control the condensate evolution. We observe a
change in the frequency of the center-of-mass oscillation in the harmonic
trapping potential, in analogy with an increase in effective mass. For fluid
velocities greater than a local speed of sound, we observe the onset of
dissipative processes up to full removal of the superfluid component. A
parallel simulation study visualizes the dynamics of the BEC and accounts for
the main features of the observed behavior.Comment: 4 pages, including figure
Pinning of quantized vortices in helium drop by dopant atoms and molecules
Using a density functional method, we investigate the properties of liquid
4He droplets doped with atoms (Ne and Xe) and molecules (SF_6 and HCN). We
consider the case of droplets having a quantized vortex pinned to the dopant. A
liquid drop formula is proposed that accurately describes the total energy of
the complex and allows one to extrapolate the density functional results to
large N. For a given impurity, we find that the formation of a
dopant+vortex+4He_N complex is energetically favored below a critical size
N_cr. Our result support the possibility to observe quantized vortices in
helium droplets by means of spectroscopic techniques.Comment: Typeset using Revtex, 3 pages and 5 figures (4 Postscript, 1 jpeg
Vortex stabilization in a small rotating asymmetric Bose-Einstein condensate
We use a variational method to investigate the ground-state phase diagram of
a small, asymmetric Bose-Einstein condensate with respect to the dimensionless
interparticle interaction strength and the applied external rotation
speed . For a given , the transition lines between no-vortex
and vortex states are shifted toward higher relative to those for the
symmetric case. We also find a re-entrant behavior, where the number of vortex
cores can decrease for large . In addition, stabilizing a vortex in a
rotating asymmetric trap requires a minimum interaction strength. For a given
asymmetry, the evolution of the variational parameters with increasing
shows two different types of transitions (sharp or continuous), depending on
the strength of the interaction. We also investigate transitions to states with
higher vorticity; the corresponding angular momentum increases continuously as
a function of
Spectroscopy of Dark Soliton States in Bose-Einstein Condensates
Experimental and numerical studies of the velocity field of dark solitons in
Bose-Einstein condensates are presented. The formation process after phase
imprinting as well as the propagation of the emerging soliton are investigated
using spatially resolved Bragg-spectroscopy of soliton states in Bose-Einstein
condensates of Rubidium87. A comparison of experimental data to results from
numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation clearly identifies the
flux underlying a dark soliton propagating in a Bose-Einstein condensate. The
results allow further optimization of the phase imprinting method for creating
collective exitations of Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Optical trapping of carbon nanotubes and graphene
We study optical trapping of nanotubes and graphene. We extract the distribution of both centre-of-mass and angular fuctuations from three-dimensional tracking of these optically trapped carbon nanostructures. The optical force and torque constants are measured from auto and cross-correlation of the tracking signals. We demonstrate that nanotubes enable nanometer spatial, and femto-Newton force resolution in photonic force microscopy by accurately measuring the radiation pressure in a double frequency optical tweezers. Finally, we integrate optical trapping with Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy demonstrating the use of a Raman and photoluminescence tweezers by investigating the spectroscopy of nanotubes and graphene fakes in solution. Experimental results are compared with calculations based on electromagnetic scattering theory. © 2011 by the Author(s); licensee Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, Messina, Italy