Current-Phase Relation of a Bose-Einstein Condensate Flowing Through a Weak Link

We study the current-phase relation of a Bose-Einstein condensate flowing through a repulsive square barrier by solving analytically the one dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The barrier height and width fix the current-phase relation $j(\delta\phi)$, which tends to $j\sim\cos(\delta\phi/2)$ for weak barriers and to the Josephson sinusoidal relation $j\sim\sin(\delta\phi)$ for strong barriers. Between these two limits, the current-phase relation depends on the barrier width. In particular, for wide enough barriers, we observe two families of multivalued current-phase relations. Diagrams belonging to the first family, already known in the literature, can have two different positive values of the current at the same phase difference. The second family, new to our knowledge, can instead allow for three different positive currents still corresponding to the same phase difference. Finally, we show that the multivalued behavior arises from the competition between hydrodynamic and nonlinear-dispersive components of the flow, the latter due to the presence of a soliton inside the barrier region.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Critical velocity of superfluid flow through single barrier and periodic potentials

We investigate the problem of an ultracold atomic gas in the superfluid phase flowing in the presence of a potential barrier or a periodic potential. We use a hydrodynamic scheme in the local density approximation (LDA) to obtain an analytic expression for the critical current as a function of the barrier height or the lattice intensity, which applies to both Bose and Fermi superfluids. In this scheme, the stationary flow becomes energetically unstable when the local superfluid velocity is equal to the local sound velocity at the point where the external potential is maximum. We compare this prediction with the results of the numerical solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii and Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. We discuss the role of long wavelength excitations in determining the critical velocity. Our results allow one to identify the different regimes of superfluid flow, namely, the LDA hydrodynamic regime, the regime of quantum effects beyond LDA for weak barriers and the regime of tunneling between weakly coupled superfluids for strong barriers. We finally discuss the relevance of these results in the context of current experiments with ultracold gases.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; appendix extended, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Effective Potential for Scalar Field in Three Dimensions: Ising Model in the Ferromagnetic Phase

We compute the effective potential $V_{\rm eff}(\phi)$ for one-component real scalar field $\phi$ in three Euclidean dimensions (3D) in the case of spontaneously broken symmetry, from the Monte Carlo simulation of the 3D Ising model in external field at temperatures approaching the phase transition from below. We study probability distributions of the order parameter on the lattices from $30^3$ to $74^3$, at $L/\xi \approx 10$. We find that, in close analogy with the symmetric case, $\phi^6$ plays an important role: $V_{\rm eff}(\phi)$ is very well approximated by the sum of $\phi^2$, $\phi^4$ and $\phi^6$ terms. An unexpected feature is the negative sign of the $\phi^4$ term. As close to the continuum limit as we can get ($\xi \approx 7.2$), we obtain $${\cal L}_{\rm eff} \approx {1 \over 2} \partial_\mu \phi \partial_\mu \phi + 1.7 (\phi^2 - \eta^2)^2 (\phi^2 + \eta^2).$$ We also compute several universal coupling constants and ratios, including the combination of critical amplitudes $C^- (f_1^-)^{-3} B^{-2}$.Comment: 13 pages, 5 Postscript figures, uses epsf.st

Suppression of Superfluidity of 4^4He in a Nanoporous Glass by Preplating a Kr Layer

Helium in nanoporous media has attracted much interest as a model Bose system with disorder and confinement. Here we have examined how a change in porous structure by preplating a monolayer of krypton affects the superfluid properties of $^4$He adsorbed or confined in a nanoporous Gelsil glass, which has a three-dimensional interconnected network of nanopores of 5.8 nm in diameter. Isotherms of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen show that monolayer preplating of Kr decreases the effective pore diameter to 4.7 nm and broadens the pore size distribution by about eight times from the sharp distribution of the bare Gelsil sample. The superfluid properties were studied by a torsional oscillator for adsorbed film states and pressurized liquid states, both before and after the monolayer Kr preplating. In the film states, both the superfluid transition temperature $T_{\mathrm c}$ and the superfluid density decrease about 10 percent by Kr preplating. The suppression of film superfluidity is attributed to the quantum localization of $^4$He atoms by the randomness in the substrate potential, which is caused by the preplating--induced broadening of the pore size distribution. In the pressurized liquid states, the superfluid density $\rho_{\mathrm s}$ is found to increase by 10 percent by Kr preplating, whereas $T_{\mathrm c}$ is decreased by 2 percent at all pressures. The unexpected enhancement of $\rho_{\mathrm s}$ might indicate the existence of an unknown disorder effect for confined $^4$He.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp