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arXiv:0912.5359 · Physical Review A

Bose-Einstein condensate in a rapidly rotating nonsymmetric trap

Alexander L. Fetter

Published Mar 23, 2010• 6 citations
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Abstract

A rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in a symmetric two-dimensional harmonic trap can be described with the lowest Landau-level set of single-particle states. The condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ is a Gaussian $\ensuremath{\propto}\mathrm{exp}(\ensuremath{-}{r}^{2}/2)$, multiplied by an analytic function $f(z)$ of the complex variable $z=x+iy$. The criterion for a quantum phase transition to a non-superfluid correlated many-body state is usually expressed in terms of the ratio of the number of particles to the number of vortices. Here a similar description applies to a rapidly rotating nonsymmetric two-dimensional trap with arbitrary quadratic anisotropy (${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{x}^{2}<{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{y}^{2}$). The corresponding condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ is a complex anisotropic Gaussian with a phase proportional to $\mathit{xy}$, multiplied by an analytic function $f(z)$, where $z=x+i{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}y$ is a stretched complex variable and $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1$ is a real parameter that depends on the trap anisotropy and the rotation frequency. Both in the mean-field Thomas-Fermi approximation and in the mean-field lowest Landau level approximation with many visible vortices, an anisotropic parabolic density profile minimizes the energy. An elongated condensate grows along the soft trap direction yet ultimately shrinks along the tight trap direction. The criterion for the quantum phase transition to a correlated state is generalized ($1$) in terms of $N/{L}_{z}$, which suggests that a nonsymmetric trap should make it easier to observe this transition, or ($2$) in terms of a ``fragmented'' correlated state, which suggests that a nonsymmetric trap should make it harder to observe this transition. An alternative scenario involves a crossover to a quasi one-dimensional condensate without visible vortices, as suggested by Aftalion et al., Phys. Rev. A 79, 011603(R) (2009).

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.033620

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A rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in a symmetric two-dimensional harmonic trap can be described with the lowest Landau-level set of single-particle states. The condensate wave function \ensuremathψ(x,y)\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)\ensuremathψ(x,y) is a Gaussian \ensuremath∝exp(\ensuremath−r2/2)\ensuremath{\propto}\mathrm{exp}(\ensuremath{-}{r}^{2}/2)\ensuremath∝exp(\ensuremath−r2/2), multiplied by an analytic function f(z)f(z)f(z) of the complex variable z=x+iyz=x+iyz=x+iy. The criterion for a quantum phase transition to a non-superfluid correlated many-body state is usually expressed in terms of the ratio of the number of particles to the number of vortices. Here a similar description applies to a rapidly rotating nonsymmetric two-dimensional trap with arbitrary quadratic anisotropy (\ensuremathωx2<\ensuremathωy2{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{x}^{2}<{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{y}^{2}\ensuremathωx2​<\ensuremathωy2​). The corresponding condensate wave function \ensuremathψ(x,y)\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)\ensuremathψ(x,y) is a complex anisotropic Gaussian with a phase proportional to xy\mathit{xy}xy, multiplied by an analytic function f(z)f(z)f(z), where z=x+i\ensuremathβ\ensuremath−yz=x+i{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}yz=x+i\ensuremathβ\ensuremath−​y is a stretched complex variable and 0\ensuremath⩽\ensuremathβ\ensuremath−\ensuremath⩽10\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\leqslant}10\ensuremath⩽\ensuremathβ\ensuremath−​\ensuremath⩽1 is a real parameter that depends on the trap anisotropy and the rotation frequency. Both in the mean-field Thomas-Fermi approximation and in the mean-field lowest Landau level approximation with many visible vortices, an anisotropic parabolic density profile minimizes the energy. An elongated condensate grows along the soft trap direction yet ultimately shrinks along the tight trap direction. The criterion for the quantum phase transition to a correlated state is generalized (111) in terms of N/LzN/{L}_{z}N/Lz​, which suggests that a nonsymmetric trap should make it easier to observe this transition, or (222) in terms of a ``fragmented'' correlated state, which suggests that a nonsymmetric trap should make it harder to observe this transition. An alternative scenario involves a crossover to a quasi one-dimensional condensate without visible vortices, as suggested by Aftalion et al., Phys. Rev. A 79, 011603(R) (2009).
A rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in a symmetric two-dimensional trap can be described with the lowest Landau-level set of states. In this case, the condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ is a Gaussian function of r2=x2+y2{r}^{2}={x}^{2}+{y}^{2}r2=x2+y2, multiplied by an analytic function P(z)P(z)P(z) of the single complex variable z=x+iyz=x+iyz=x+iy; the zeros of P(z)P(z)P(z) denote the positions of the vortices. Here, a similar description is used for a rapidly rotating anisotropic two-dimensional trap with arbitrary anisotropy $({\ensuremath{\omega}}_{x}∕{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{y}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1)$. The corresponding condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ has the form of a complex anisotropic Gaussian with a phase proportional to xyxyxy, multiplied by an analytic function $P(\ensuremath{\zeta})$, where $\ensuremath{\zeta}\ensuremath{\propto}x+i{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}y$ and $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1$ is a real parameter that depends on the trap anisotropy and the rotation frequency. The zeros of $P(\ensuremath{\zeta})$ again fix the locations of the vortices. Within the set of lowest Landau-level states at zero temperature, an anisotropic parabolic density profile provides an absolute minimum for the energy, with the vortex density decreasing slowly and anisotropically away from the trap center.
We study the global density profile of a rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap with transverse frequency ω⊥ω_{\perp}ω⊥​. By introducing an additional variational degree of freedom to the lowest Landau level wave function, we demonstrate that with increasing strength of the interparticle interaction, the global density profile changes from a Gaussian to the inverted parabolic one characteristic of Thomas-Fermi theory. The criterion for the lowest Landau level wave function to be a good approximation for the global structure is that the mean field energy be small compared with ℏω⊥/Nv\hbar ω_{\perp}/N_{\rm v}ℏω⊥​/Nv​, where NvN_{\rm v}Nv​ is the number of vortices in the cloud. This condition is more stringent than the requirement that the mean field energy be small compared with ℏω⊥\hbar ω_{\perp}ℏω⊥​ which is necessary for the lowest Landau level wave function to be a good approximation to the local structure. Our results show that the lowest Landau level wave function is inappropriate for the global structure of the system realized in recent experiments even though this wave function can describe the local structure well.
We develop an approach for calculating stationary states of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in harmonic traps which is applicable for arbitrary ratios of the rotation frequency to the transverse frequency of the trap ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. Assuming the number of vortices to be large, we write the condensate wave function as the product of a function that describes the structure of individual vortices times an envelope function varying slowly on the scale of the vortex spacing. By minimizing the energy, we derive Gross-Pitaevskii equations that determine the properties of individual vortices and the global structure of the cloud. For low rotation rates, the structure of a vortex is that of an isolated vortex in a uniform medium, while for rotation rates approaching the frequency of the trap (the mean-field lowest-Landau-level regime), the structure is that of the lowest ppp-wave state of a particle in a harmonic trap with frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. The global structure of the cloud is determined by minimizing the energy with respect to variations of the envelope function; for conditions appropriate to most experimental investigations to date, we predict that the transverse density profile of the cloud will be of the Thomas-Fermi form, rather than the Gaussian structure predicted on the assumption that the wave function consists only of components in the lowest Landau level for a regular array of vortices.
I review free and trapped Bose‐Einstein condensates (BECs) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. In an isotropic harmonic potential V(r) = 12Mω2r2, the single‐particle ground state introduces a new intrinsic scale of length [the ground‐state size d = ℏ/(Mω)] and energy [the ground‐state energy E0 = 32ℏω]. When the trap rotates [6, 7, 8], there is a critical angular velocity for the appearance of one or a few quantized vortices. For more rapid rotation [9, 10, 11, 12, 13] the condensate contains a vortex array. The resulting centrifugal forces expand the condensate radially and shrink it axially; thus the condensate becomes effectively two‐dimensional. If the external rotation speed approaches the frequency of the radial harmonic confining potential, the condensate enters the “lowest‐Landau‐level” regime, and a simple description again becomes possible [14, 15]. Eventually, the system is predicted to make a quantum phase transition to a highly correlated state analogous to the fractional quantum Hall states of electrons in a strong magnetic field [16, 17, 18, 19, 20].
Trapped Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) differ considerably from the standard textbook example of a uniform Bose gas. In an isotropic harmonic potential V(r) = ½Mω2 r 2, the single-particle ground state introduces a new intrinsic scale of length [the ground-state size d = √ℏ/(Mω)] and energy [the ground-state energy E 0 = 32 \frac{3} {2} 23​ ℏω]. When the trap rotates at a low angular velocity, the behavior of a single vortex illustrates the crucial role of discrete quantized vorticity. For more rapid rotation, the condensate contains a vortex array. The resulting centrifugal forces expand the condensate radially and shrink it axially; thus, the condensate becomes effectively two dimensional. If the external rotation speed approaches the frequency of the radial harmonic confining potential, the condensate enters the “lowest-Landau-level” regime, and a simple description again becomes possible. Eventually, the system is predicted to make a quantum phase transition to a highly correlated state analogous to the fractional quantum Hall states of electrons in a strong magnetic field.
After reviewing the ideal Bose-Einstein gas in a box and in a harmonic trap, the effect of interactions on the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate are discussed, along with the dynamics of small-amplitude perturbations (the Bogoliubov equations). When the condensate rotates with angular velocity $\ensuremath{\Omega}$, one or several vortices nucleate, leading to many observable consequences. With more rapid rotation, the vortices form a dense triangular array, and the collective behavior of these vortices has additional experimental implications. For $\ensuremath{\Omega}$ near the radial trap frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, the lowest-Landau-level approximation becomes applicable, providing a simple picture of such rapidly rotating condensates. Eventually, as $\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, the rotating dilute gas is expected to undergo a quantum phase transition from a superfluid to various highly correlated (nonsuperfluid) states analogous to those familiar from the fractional quantum Hall effect for electrons in a strong perpendicular magnetic field.