A method is presented to solve the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations with arbitrary distributions of vortices. The real-space Green's function approach based on Chebyshev polynomials is complemented by a gauge transformation which allows one to treat finite as well as infinite, ordered as well as disordered vortex configurations. This tool gives unprecedented access to vortex lattices at very low magnetic fields and glassy phases. After describing in detail the method and its implementation, we use it to address a series of problems related to $d$-wave superconductivity on the square lattice. We first study the continuity of the vortex-core energy spectrum and its evolution from the quantum regime to the semiclassical limit; we investigate the effect of the band structure on the vortex by following the self-consistent solution through a Lifshitz transition; we then study the evolution from the vortex lattice to the isolated-vortex limit with decreasing field and show that a new emerging length scale controls this transition; finally, we perform a statistical study of the vortex-core local density of states in the presence of positional disorder in the vortex lattice. The calculations reveal a number of qualitative differences between the properties of vortices in the quantum and semiclassical regimes.
A method is presented to solve the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations with arbitrary distributions of vortices. The real-space Green's function approach based on Chebyshev polynomials is complemented by a gauge transformation which allows one to treat finite as well as infinite, ordered as well as disordered vortex configurations. This tool gives unprecedented access to vortex lattices at very low magnetic fields and glassy phases. After describing in detail the method and its implementation, we use it to address a series of problems related to d-wave superconductivity on the square lattice. We first study the continuity of the vortex-core energy spectrum and its evolution from the quantum regime to the semiclassical limit; we investigate the effect of the band structure on the vortex by following the self-consistent solution through a Lifshitz transition; we then study the evolution from the vortex lattice to the isolated-vortex limit with decreasing field and show that a new emerging length scale controls this transition; finally, we perform a statistical study of the vortex-core local density of states in the presence of positional disorder in the vortex lattice. The calculations reveal a number of qualitative differences between the properties of vortices in the quantum and semiclassical regimes.
Using a self-devised numerical approach, we developed a powerful tool to investigate vortex properties and interactions in mean-field theories for superconductors and superfluids, based on fixing the vortex phase distribution in the energy minimization process. The method was applied to (i) multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and (ii) superconductors with single- or multi-component superconducting condensates. In these systems, vortex-vortex interaction and other key vortex features are analytically described only in specific regimes, that do not account for a large part of vortex behavior observed experimentally. In multi-component BECs, for example, the vortex-vortex interaction is only known for inter-vortex distances much greater than the healing length, i.e. far from the vortex core. Under our approach, by assuming multi-vortex structures, within Gross-Pitaevskii theory, we report the vortex-vortex interaction in the full range of distances, capturing the mechanism behind unusual vortex conformations previously reported in literature, such as bound clusters with two or three vortices. Usually, these clusters emerge from a competition between intra- and inter-component vortex interaction, but we demonstrate they can also emerge from the phase-frustration between the components. In superconductors, the description of vortex-vortex interaction is usually restricted to bulk or very thin films, and most of the key vortex features, such as the spatial magnetic field and current density profiles, are known only in the limit of London theory, i.e. for coherence length negligible as compared to magnetic field penetration depth and other system dimensions. The parametric range outside this limit is actually relevant to many materials. We fill that gap by applying our method to Ginzburg-Landau theory. The vortex structure is investigated for single- and two-gap bulk superconductors, outside the London regime. This enables us to extend analytical expressions describing the condensate and magnetic profiles around the vortex available in literature by numerical calculations and suitable fitting functions. We expand our approach to account for films with finite thickness, to connect our findings to both bulk and Pearl’s description by adjusting the sample thickness. This also allowed us to describe how vortex configurations change for samples with intermediate thickness, where we observe the effective magnetic response of the superconductor changing between the textbook type-1 and type-2 behaviors, in a nontrivial manner, governed by the non-monotonic vortex interaction. As a result of a detailed analysis, we propose new critical parameters to define the crossover between different regimes and establish their relation with the superconducting critical fields.
Atomic clouds in a rotating optical lattice are at the intellectual intersection of several major paradigms of condensed matter physics. An optical lattice simulates the periodic potential ubiquitous in solid state physics, while rotation probes the superfluid character of these cold atomic gases by driving the formation of quantized vortices. Here we explore the theory of vortices in an optical lattice. We first provide a detailed introduction section aimed at providing the reader with the information necessary to understand and appreciate the research presented in later chapters. Next we study an infinite square lattice configuration of vortices in a rotating optical lattice near the superfluid-Mott-insulator transition. We find a series of abrupt structural phase transitions where vortices are pinned with their cores only on plaquettes or only on sites. We discuss connections between these vortex structures and the Hofstadter-butterfly spectrum of free particles on a rotating lattice. We then investigate vortex configurations within a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate in a rotating optical lattice. We find that proximity to the Mott insulating state dramatically affects the vortex structures. To illustrate we give examples in which the vortices: (i) all sit at a fixed distance from the center of the trap, forming a ring, or (ii) coalesce at the center of the trap, forming a giant vortex. We model time-of-flight expansion to demonstrate the experimental observability of our predictions. Finally for a trapped gas far from the Mott regime, the competition between vortex-vortex interactions and pinning to the optical lattice results in a complicated energy landscape, which leads to hysteretic evolution. The qualitative structure of the vortex configurations depends on the commensurability between the vortex density and the site density - with regular lattices when these are commensurate, and concentric rings when they are not. Again we model the imaging of these structures by calculating time-of-flight column densities. As in the absence of the optical lattice, the vortices are much more easily observed in a time-of-flight image than in-situ.
In order to understand what kind of information can be extracted from the vortex-core structure in superfluid fermion-atom gases we make a systematic study for the core structure of a singly quantized vortex in the range of broad Feshbach resonance, solving numerically the generalized Bogoliubov--de Gennes equation derived from the fermion-boson model. Numerical calculations reveal that the vortex core can be well characterized by three length scales from the spatial variation of the fermionic and bosonic gap functions. We also predict that the profile of matter depletion and the quasiparticle spectrum show distinctive differences between the BCS and Bose-Einstein Condensate regimes.
This body of work examines the non-equilibrium dynamics of vortex lattice carrying Bose–Einstein condensates. We solve the mean-feld Gross–Pitaevskii equation for a two-dimensional pancake geometry, in the co-rotating frame within the limit of high rotation frequencies. The condensate responds to this by creating a large periodic lattice of vortices with 6-fold triangular symmetry. By applying two distinct perturbations to this lattice, we examine the resulting effects on the vortices during time evolution. The frst perturbation involves applying an optical potential with matching geometry to the vortex lattice. We observe the appearance of interference fringes, and we show that these can be described by moiré interference theory. This is backed up by a decomposition of the kinetic energy spectra of the condensate. The applied perturbation only modifes the condensate density, with the vortex positions largely unaffected. From this we conclude that the vortex lattice is very stable and robust against phononic disturbances. Next, by removing vortices at predefned positions in the lattice using phase imprinting techniques, we examine the resulting order of the lattice. By performing this we generate stable topological defects in the crystal structure. The resulting lattice remains highly ordered in the presence of low numbers of these defects, where crystal structure and order of the lattice shows to be highly robust. By varying the type of imprinted phases we can create controllable degrees of disorder in the lattice. This disorder is analysed using orientational correlations, Delaunay triangulation, and Voronoi diagrams of the vortex lattice, and demonstrates a method for examining order and generating disorder in vortex lattices in Bose–Einstein condensates. All work described makes extensive use of GPU computing techniques, and allows for the simulation of these systems to be realised in short times. The implementation of the calculations using GPU computing are also discussed, where the software is shown to be the fastest of its kind out of the independently tested software suites.
Making use of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we study the quasi-particle spectrum and the vortex core structure of a single vortex in quasi 2D s-wave superconductors for small pFξ0, where pF is the Fermi momentum and ξ0 = vF/∆0 is the coherence length (¯h = 1). During our numerical calculation the particle number is conserved for each pFξ0. In particular, we find that there are only 1 or 2 bound states for pFξ0 = 1. Also, for pFξ0 = 1, the Kramer-Pesch effect ceases to exist at around T/Tc ≃ 0.3. There are renewed interests in vortex structure since the discovery of high Tc cuprate superconductors. It is possible that the superconductivity of high Tc cuprates can be characterized as d-wave superconductivity 1), 2) and is very close to the quantum
Making use of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we study the quasi-particle spectrum and the vortex core structure of a single vortex in quasi 2D s-wave superconductors for small pFξ0, where pF is the Fermi momentum and ξ0=vF/Δ0 is the coherence length(ℏ=1). In particular we find that the number of bound states decreases rapidly for decreasing pFξ0. Also for pFξ0∼1, the Kramer-Pesch effect stops around T/Tc≃0.3.