1,982 research outputs found
Tkachenko modes of vortex lattices in rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates
We calculate the in-plane modes of the vortex lattice in a rotating Bose
condensate from the Thomas-Fermi to the mean-field quantum Hall regimes. The
Tkachenko mode frequency goes from linear in the wavevector, , for lattice
rotational velocities, , much smaller than the lowest sound wave
frequency in a finite system, to quadratic in in the opposite limit. The
system also supports an inertial mode of frequency . The
calculated frequencies are in good agreement with recent observations of
Tkachenko modes at JILA, and provide evidence for the decrease in the shear
modulus of the vortex lattice at rapid rotation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Vortex lattice stability and phase coherence in three-dimensional rapidly rotating Bose condensates
We establish the general equations of motion for the modes of a vortex
lattice in a rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in three dimensions,
taking into account the elastic energy of the lattice and the vortex line
bending energy. As in two dimensions, the vortex lattice supports Tkachenko and
gapped sound modes. In contrast, in three dimensions the Tkachenko mode
frequency at long wavelengths becomes linear in the wavevector for any
propagation direction out of the transverse plane. We compute the correlation
functions of the vortex displacements and the superfluid order parameter for a
homogeneous Bose gas of bounded extent in the axial direction. At zero
temperature the vortex displacement correlations are convergent at large
separation, but at finite temperatures, they grow with separation. The growth
of the vortex displacements should lead to observable melting of vortex
lattices at higher temperatures and somewhat lower particle number and faster
rotation than in current experiments. At zero temperature a system of large
extent in the axial direction maintains long range order-parameter correlations
for large separation, but at finite temperatures the correlations decay with
separation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Changes include the addition of the particle
density - vortex density coupling and the correct value of the shear modulu
Vortex lattices in rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates: modes and correlation functions
After delineating the physical regimes which vortex lattices encounter in
rotating Bose-Einstein condensates as the rotation rate, , increases,
we derive the normal modes of the vortex lattice in two dimensions at zero
temperature. Taking into account effects of the finite compressibility, we find
an inertial mode of frequency , and a primarily transverse
Tkachenko mode, whose frequency goes from being linear in the wave vector in
the slowly rotating regime, where is small compared with the lowest
compressional mode frequency, to quadratic in the wave vector in the opposite
limit. We calculate the correlation functions of vortex displacements and
phase, density and superfluid velocities, and find that the zero-point
excitations of the soft quadratic Tkachenko modes lead in a large system to a
loss of long range phase correlations, growing logarithmically with distance,
and hence lead to a fragmented state at zero temperature. The vortex positional
ordering is preserved at zero temperature, but the thermally excited Tkachenko
modes cause the relative positional fluctuations to grow logarithmically with
separation at finite temperature. The superfluid density, defined in terms of
the transverse velocity autocorrelation function, vanishes at all temperatures.
Finally we construct the long wavelength single particle Green's function in
the rotating system and calculate the condensate depletion as a function of
temperature.Comment: 11 pages Latex, no figure
Vortex Lattice Inhomogeneity in Spatially Inhomogeneous Superfluids
A trapped degenerate Bose gas exhibits superfluidity with spatially
nonuniform superfluid density. We show that the vortex distribution in such a
highly inhomogeneous rotating superfluid is nevertheless nearly uniform. The
inhomogeneity in vortex density, which diminishes in the rapid-rotation limit,
is driven by the discrete way vortices impart angular momentum to the
superfluid. This effect favors highest vortex density in regions where the
superfluid density is most uniform (e.g., the center of a harmonically trapped
gas). A striking consequence of this is that the boson velocity deviates from a
rigid-body form exhibiting a radial-shear flow past the vortex lattice.Comment: 5 RevTeX pgs,2 figures, published versio
Dislocation-Mediated Melting in Superfluid Vortex Lattices
We describe thermal melting of the two-dimensional vortex lattice in a
rotating superfluid by generalizing the Halperin and Nelson theory of
dislocation-mediated melting. and derive a melting temperature proportional to
the renormalized shear modulus of the vortex lattice. The rigid-body rotation
of the superfluid attenuates the effects of lattice compression on the energy
of dislocations and hence the melting temperature, while not affecting the
shearing. Finally, we discuss dislocations and thermal melting in inhomogeneous
rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates; we delineate a phase diagram in the
temperature -- rotation rate plane, and infer that the thermal melting
temperature should lie below the Bose-Einstein transition temperature.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Giant Vortex Lattice Deformations in Rapidly Rotating Bose-Einstein Condensates
We have performed numerical simulations of giant vortex structures in rapidly
rotating Bose-Einstein condensates within the Gross-Pitaevskii formalism. We
reproduce the qualitative features, such as oscillation of the giant vortex
core area, formation of toroidal density hole, and the precession of giant
vortices, observed in the recent experiment [Engels \emph{et.al.}, Phys. Rev.
Lett. {\bf 90}, 170405 (2003)]. We provide a mechanism which quantitatively
explains the observed core oscillation phenomenon. We demonstrate the clear
distinction between the mechanism of atom removal and a repulsive pinning
potential in creating giant vortices. In addition, we have been able to
simulate the transverse Tkachenko vortex lattice vibrations.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures; revised description of core oscillation, new
subfigur
Vortex states of rapidly rotating dilute Bose-Einstein condensates
We show that, in the Thomas-Fermi regime, the cores of vortices in rotating
dilute Bose-Einstein condensates adjust in radius as the rotation velocity,
, grows, thus precluding a phase transition associated with core
overlap at high vortex density. In both a harmonic trap and a rotating
hard-walled bucket, the core size approaches a limiting fraction of the
intervortex spacing. At large rotation speeds, a system confined in a bucket
develops, within Thomas-Fermi, a hole along the rotation axis, and eventually
makes a transition to a giant vortex state with all the vorticity contained in
the hole.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTex4. Version as published; discussion
extended, some references added and update
Pinning and collective modes of a vortex lattice in a Bose-Einstein condensate
We consider the ground state of vortices in a rotating Bose-Einstein
condensate that is loaded in a corotating two-dimensional optical lattice. Due
to the competition between vortex interactions and their potential energy, the
vortices arrange themselves in various patterns, depending on the strength of
the optical potential and the vortex density. We outline a method to determine
the phase diagram for arbitrary vortex filling factor. Using this method, we
discuss several filling factors explicitly. For increasing strength of the
optical lattice, the system exhibits a transition from the unpinned hexagonal
lattice to a lattice structure where all the vortices are pinned by the optical
lattice. The geometry of this fully pinned vortex lattice depends on the
filling factor and is either square or triangular. For some filling factors
there is an intermediate half-pinned phase where only half of the vortices is
pinned. We also consider the case of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate,
where the possible coexistence of the above-mentioned phases further enriches
the phase diagram. In addition, we calculate the dispersion of the low-lying
collective modes of the vortex lattice and find that, depending on the
structure of the ground state, they can be gapped or gapless. Moreover, in the
half-pinned and fully pinned phases, the collective mode dispersion is
anisotropic. Possible experiments to probe the collective mode spectrum, and in
particular the gap, are suggested.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, changes in section
Rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in anharmonic potentials
Rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates confined in anharmonic traps can
exhibit a rich variety of vortex phases, including a vortex lattice, a vortex
lattice with a hole, and a giant vortex. Using an augmented Thomas-Fermi
variational approach to determine the ground state of the condensate in the
rotating frame -- valid for sufficiently strongly interacting condensates -- we
determine the transitions between these three phases for a
quadratic-plus-quartic confining potential. Combining the present results with
previous numerical simulations of small rotating condensates in such anharmonic
potentials, we delineate the general structure of the zero temperature phase
diagram.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
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