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arXiv:0802.3225 · Physical Review A

Effects of boundaries and density inhomogeneity on states of vortex matter in Bose-Einstein condensates at finite temperature

Steinar Kragset, Egor S. Babaev, Asle Sudbø

Published Apr 3, 2008• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Most of the literature on quantum vortices predicting various states of vortex matter in three dimensions at finite temperatures in quantum fluids is based on the assumption of an extended and homogeneous system. This is well known not to be the case in actual Bose-Einstein condensates in traps, which are finite systems with nonuniform density. This raises the question to what extent one can speak of different aggregate states of vortex matter (vortex lattices, liquids, and tensionless vortex tangles) in these systems. To address this point, in the present work we focus on the finite-size, boundaries and density inhomogeneity effects on thermal vortex matter in a Bose-Einstein condensate. To this end we perform Monte Carlo simulations on a model system describing trapped Bose-Einstein condensates. Throughout the paper, we draw on analogies with results for vortex matter obtained for extended systems. We also consider, for comparison, the cylindrical confinement geometry with uniform density profile from the center out to the edge of the trap. The trapping potential is taken to be generically of an anharmonic form in such a way as to interpolate between a harmonic trap and a cylindrical confinement geometry. It also allows for a dip in the density profile at the center. We find distinct thermal equilibrium properties of the vortex system as the qualitative characteristics of the trapping potential are varied. For a uniform cylindrical confinement geometry, we find a vortex lattice at the center of the trap as well as ringlike thermal fluctuations of the vortex system as the trap edge is approached. For a harmonic trap, we find a distinct region at the edge of the trap where the vortex lines appear to have lost their line tension. Due to the steep density gradient, this crosses directly over to a vortex-line lattice at the center of the trap at low temperatures. At higher temperatures, an intermediate tensionful vortex liquid may exist. For an anharmonic trap where the ground state condensate density features a local minimum at the center of the trap, we find a corresponding region which appears to feature a tensionless vortex-line liquid phase. This work suggests that, finiteness and intrinsic inhomogeneity of the system notwithstanding, one nonetheless can approximately invoke the notion of distinct aggregate states of vortex matter realized at certain length scales. This might be helpful, in particular, in the search for possible new states of vortex matter in Bose-Einstein condensates with multiple components and different symmetries.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.043605

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Most of the literature on quantum vortices predicting various states of vortex matter in three dimensions at finite temperatures in quantum fluids is based on the assumption of an extended and homogeneous system. This is well known not to be the case in actual Bose-Einstein condensates in traps, which are finite systems with nonuniform density. This raises the question to what extent one can speak of different aggregate states of vortex matter (vortex lattices, liquids, and tensionless vortex tangles) in these systems. To address this point, in the present work we focus on the finite-size, boundaries and density inhomogeneity effects on thermal vortex matter in a Bose-Einstein condensate. To this end we perform Monte Carlo simulations on a model system describing trapped Bose-Einstein condensates. Throughout the paper, we draw on analogies with results for vortex matter obtained for extended systems. We also consider, for comparison, the cylindrical confinement geometry with uniform density profile from the center out to the edge of the trap. The trapping potential is taken to be generically of an anharmonic form in such a way as to interpolate between a harmonic trap and a cylindrical confinement geometry. It also allows for a dip in the density profile at the center. We find distinct thermal equilibrium properties of the vortex system as the qualitative characteristics of the trapping potential are varied. For a uniform cylindrical confinement geometry, we find a vortex lattice at the center of the trap as well as ringlike thermal fluctuations of the vortex system as the trap edge is approached. For a harmonic trap, we find a distinct region at the edge of the trap where the vortex lines appear to have lost their line tension. Due to the steep density gradient, this crosses directly over to a vortex-line lattice at the center of the trap at low temperatures. At higher temperatures, an intermediate tensionful vortex liquid may exist. For an anharmonic trap where the ground state condensate density features a local minimum at the center of the trap, we find a corresponding region which appears to feature a tensionless vortex-line liquid phase. This work suggests that, finiteness and intrinsic inhomogeneity of the system notwithstanding, one nonetheless can approximately invoke the notion of distinct aggregate states of vortex matter realized at certain length scales. This might be helpful, in particular, in the search for possible new states of vortex matter in Bose-Einstein condensates with multiple components and different symmetries.
We perform Monte Carlo studies of vortices in three dimensions in a cylindrical confinement, with uniform and nonuniform density. The former is relevant to rotating 4He; the latter is relevant to a rotating trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. In the former case, we find dominant angular thermal vortex fluctuations close to the cylinder wall. For the latter case, a novel effect is that at low temperatures the vortex solid close to the center of the trap crosses directly over to a tensionless vortex tangle near the edge of the trap. At higher temperatures an intermediate tensionful vortex liquid located between the vortex solid and the vortex tangle may exist.
There are many efforts to understand better the dipolar long-range interaction, the shell potential confinement, and the vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). Furthermore, combining these three areas suggests that it can give rise to new phenomena. In this thesis, we studied the dynamics of vortices in a shell-trapped dipolar BEC. The long-range dipolar interaction induces an inhomogeneous density distribution on the shell, affecting the vortex velocity field. We analyzed the dynamics of one and two pairs of vortices symmetrically located in the shell to separate the vortex-vortex interaction contribution from that of the density gradient due to the inhomogeneous background. In addition to the numerical studies, a Lagrangian formalism allowed us to derive semi-analytical expressions which are in agreement with the results of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) simulations, giving us better insights into the influence of the core in the vortex dynamics outside the validity of the point-vortex model. In the second part of this thesis, we describe an actual experimental implementation of the shell BEC. Using the Stochastic Projected GPE simulations, we determine the configuration of a finite temperature vortex lattice produced in this potential over the action of gravity. More specifically, we studied the transition from a perfectly hexagonal (triangular) lattice to the hexatic and liquid phases by detecting the vortex positions to calculate the angular and pair correlation functions of this system for different values of temperatures and trap rotation frequencies. Our results for the vortex lattice melting are consistent with the hexatic to liquid transition in the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young (KTHNY) scenario and can be extended to predict the melting temperature of other finite-size systems.
We study the dynamics of a vortex in an atomic Bose-condensed gas at finite temperature within the Zaremba-Nikuni-Griffin formalism. In a harmonically trapped pancake-shaped condensate, an off-centered vortex is known to decay by spiraling out toward the edge of the condensate. We quantify the dependence of this decay on temperature, atomic collisions, and thermal cloud rotation. Near the trap center where the density varies slowly, we show that our numerical results agree with the predictions of the Hall-Vinen phenomenological friction force model used to describe quantized vorticity in superfluid systems. Our result thus clarifies the microscopic origin of the friction and provides an ab initio determination of its value.
The dynamics of interacting quantized vortex filaments in a rotating Bose–Einstein condensate existing in the Thomas–Fermi regime at zero temperature and obeying the Gross–Pitaevskii equation has been considered in the hydrodynamic “nonelastic” approximation. A noncanonical Hamilton equation of motion for the macroscopically averaged vorticity has been derived for a smoothly inhomogeneous array of filaments (vortex lattice) taking into account spatial nonuniformity of the equilibrium density of the condensate, which is determined by the trap potential. The minimum of the corresponding Hamiltonian describes the static configuration of the deformed vortex lattice against the preset density background. The condition of minimum can be reduced to a nonlinear second-order partial differential vector equation for which some exact and approximate solutions are obtained. It has been shown that if the condensate density has an anisotropic Gaussian profile, the equation of motion for the averaged vorticity has solutions in the form of a vector exhibiting a nontrivial time dependence, but homogeneous in space. An integral representation has also been obtained for the matrix Green function that determines the nonlocal Hamiltonian of a system of several quantized vortices of an arbitrary shape in a Bose–Einstein condensate with the Gaussian density. In particular, if all filaments are straight and oriented along one of the principal axes of the ellipsoid, we have a finitedimensional reduction that can describe the dynamics of the system of pointlike vortices against an inhomogeneous background. A simple approximate expression is proposed for the 2D Green function with an arbitrary density profile and is compared numerically with the exact result in the Gaussian case. The corresponding approximate equations of motion, describing the long-wavelength dynamics of interacting vortex filaments in condensates with a density depending only on transverse coordinates, have been derived.
The goal of creating and observing quantized vortices in trapped Bose gases arose almost immediately following the first achievements of Bose–Einstein condensation. The motivation for doing so was the obvious analogy with vortices in liquid helium and in type-II superconductors, and the fact that the quantization of circulation is directly associated with superfluid flow. It was recognized that the observation of quantized vortices could be taken as indisputable evidence for the existence of superfluidity in these systems. The review by Fetter and Svidzinsky (2001) contains a summary of the early experiments and the theoretical background for understanding the vortex state in a weakly interacting Bose gas based on the GP equation. This material will not be repeated here apart from those aspects that have a direct bearing on the focus of the present chapter, namely the properties of vortices at finite temperature. Although there have been some theoretical contributions to this subject, much remains to be done. The discussion in this chapter provides a framework for addressing the finite-temperature properties of vortex formation and vortex lattices in the context of the ZNG theory. The results in this chapter have not been published before, apart from those in subsection 9.8.1, which are based on Williams et al. (2002). There are several issues that relate to finite temperatures. First, there is the nucleation and formation of vortices from an initial highly nonequilibrium state. Second, there is the interaction of vortices with thermal excitations, which is responsible for the dissipative dynamics of a nonequilibrium vortex state. Third, there is the question of the final equilibrium state, with respect to the condensate and noncondensate densities in the vicinity of a vortex and to the geometrical arrangement of vortices in space.
In this review, we give an overview of the experimental and theoretical advances in the physics of quantized vortices in dilute atomic-gas Bose--Einstein condensates in a trapping potential, especially focusing on experimental research activities and their theoretical interpretations. Making good use of the atom optical technique, the experiments have revealed many novel structural and dynamic properties of quantized vortices by directly visualizing vortex cores from an image of the density profiles. These results lead to a deep understanding of superfluid hydrodynamics of such systems. Typically, vortices are stabilized by a rotating potential created by a laser beam, magnetic field, and thermal gas. Finite size effects and inhomogeneity of the system, originating from the confinement by the trapping potential, yield unique vortex dynamics coupled with the collective excitations of the condensate. Measuring the frequencies of the collective modes is an accurate tool for clarifying the character of the vortex state. The topics included in this review are the mechanism of vortex formation, equilibrium properties, and dynamics of a single vortex and those of a vortex lattice in a rapidly rotating condensate.