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arXiv:1702.03846 · Physical Review A

Vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates with PT -symmetric gain and loss

Lukas Schwarz, Holger Cartarius, Ziad H. Musslimani, Jörg Main, Günter Wunner

Published May 12, 2017• 29 citations
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Abstract

We investigate vortex excitations in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of complex $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials. These complex potentials are used to describe a balanced gain and loss of particles and allow an easier calculation of stationary states in open systems than in a full dynamical calculation including the whole environment. We examine the conditions under which stationary vortex states can exist and consider transitions from vortex to nonvortex states. In addition, we study the influences of $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry on the dynamics of nonstationary vortex states placed at off-center positions.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.053613

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We investigate vortex excitations in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of complex PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric potentials. These complex potentials are used to describe a balanced gain and loss of particles and allow an easier calculation of stationary states in open systems than in a full dynamical calculation including the whole environment. We examine the conditions under which stationary vortex states can exist and consider transitions from vortex to nonvortex states. In addition, we study the influences of PT\mathcal{PT}PT symmetry on the dynamics of nonstationary vortex states placed at off-center positions.
PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric quantum mechanics allows finding stationary states in mean-field systems with balanced gain and loss of particles. In this work we apply this method to rotating Bose-Einstein condensates with contact interaction which are known to support ground states with vortices. Due to the particle exchange with the environment transport phenomena through ultracold gases with vortices can be studied. We find that even strongly interacting rotating systems support stable PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric ground states, sustaining a current parallel and perpendicular to the vortex cores. The vortices move through the nonuniform particle density and leave or enter the condensate through its borders creating the required net current.
Bose-Einstein condensates with balanced gain and loss can support stationary states despite the exchange of particles with the environment. In the mean-field approximation this is described by the PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric Gross-Pitaevskii equation with real eigenvalues. In this work we study the role of stationary states in the appropriate many-particle description. It is shown that without particle interaction there exist two nonoscillating trajectories which can be interpreted as the many-particle equivalent of the stationary PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric mean-field states. Furthermore, the system has a nonequilibrium steady state which acts as an attractor in the oscillating regime. This steady state is a pure condensate for strong gain and loss contributions if the interaction between the particles is sufficiently weak.
PT symmetry, alongside its applications and possible realizations, has established itself as a hot topic in recent years. Next to its possible impact on the fundamental nature of quantum physics, it has proved to be useful in the research on open systems of all kind. While PT physics has already been very successful in the field of optics, this thesis presents numerical calculations that show how PT symmetry can be applied to the mean-field theory of ultra-cold gases, where particles are added and removed coherently from a Bose-Einstein condensate. As long as the eigenvalues of a system are continuous functions with respect to such an exchange rate of particles, PT symmetry is preserved for weak perturbations. Therefore, a prediction of these changes for high excitation numbers is incredibly valuable to ensure stable stationary realizations. Not only does the present work test such rigorous estimates with regard to their validity, it also goes beyond analytically accessible regimes and presents numerical estimations for the nonlinear description of interacting particles. With this in mind, only low excited states have to be considered when studying non-trivial modifications to the PT-symmetric double-well potential. Not only do the results at hand show that this simplest implementation of PT-symmetric concepts is extremely stable with respect to experimental inaccuracies, but such modifications give rise to possible applications. Weakening the barrier inside the double well by introducing another particle channel from the gain to the loss well has a non-trivial effect on the net transport: In general, the net current does not profit from this modification, specific configurations even allow its complete suppression. Further, not only static systems, but rotating condensates are considered. It is shown, that the net particle transport is not only possible in the presence of the rotation; the vortices in the rotating wave functions even generate the necessary current by moving in such a way that their circular current adds to the net current.
We show how non-Hermitian potentials used to describe probability gain and loss in effective theories of open quantum systems can be achieved by a coupling of the system to an environment. We do this by coupling a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an attractive double-$\ensuremath{\delta}$ potential to a condensate fraction outside the double well. We investigate which requirements have to be imposed on possible environments with a linear coupling to the system. This information is used to determine an environment required for stationary states of the BEC. To investigate the stability of the system we use fully numerical simulations of the dynamics. It turns out that the approach is viable and possible setups for the realization of a PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric potential for a BEC are accessible. Vulnerabilities of the whole system to small perturbations can be attributed to the singular character of the simplified $\ensuremath{\delta}$-shaped potential used in our model.
Superfluid currents in the boson condensate with a source and sink of particles are modeled by the PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a complex potential. We demonstrate the existence of through-flows of the condensate---stationary states with the asymptotically nonvanishing flux. The through-flows come in two broad varieties determined by the form of their number density distribution. One variety is described by diplike solutions featuring a localized density depression; the other one comprises humplike structures with a density spike in their core. We exemplify each class by exact closed-form solutions. For a fixed set of parameters of the PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric potential, stationary through-flows form continuous families parametrized by the strength of the background flux. All humplike and some diplike members of the family are found to be stable. We show that the through-flows can be controlled by varying the gain-and-loss amplitude of the complex potential and that these amplitude variations may produce an anomalous response of the flux across the gain-loss interface.