We have observed and characterized the dynamics of singly quantized vortices
in dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates. Our condensates are produced in a
superposition of two internal states of 87Rb, with one state supporting a
vortex and the other filling the vortex core. Subsequently, the state filling
the core can be partially or completely removed, reducing the radius of the
core by as much as a factor of 13, all the way down to its bare value. The
corresponding superfluid rotation rates, evaluated at the core radius, vary by
a factor of 150, but the precession frequency of the vortex core about the
condensate axis changes by only a factor of two.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
