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arXiv:1707.07696 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Attractive versus repulsive interactions in the Bose-Einstein condensation dynamics of relativistic field theories

Jürgen Berges, Kirill Boguslavski, Aleksandr Chatrchyan, Joerg Jaeckel

Published Oct 30, 2017• 18 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the impact of attractive self-interactions on the nonequilibrium dynamics of relativistic quantum fields with large occupancies at low momenta. Our primary focus is on Bose-Einstein condensation and nonthermal fixed points in such systems. For a model system, we consider $\mathcal{O}(N)$-symmetric scalar field theories. We use classical-statistical real-time simulations as well as a systematic $1/N$ expansion of the quantum (two-particle-irreducible) effective action to next-to-leading order. When the mean self-interactions are repulsive, condensation occurs as a consequence of a universal inverse particle cascade to the zero-momentum mode with self-similar scaling behavior. For attractive mean self-interactions, the inverse cascade is absent, and the particle annihilation rate is enhanced compared to the repulsive case, which counteracts the formation of coherent field configurations. For $N\ensuremath{\ge}2$, the presence of a nonvanishing conserved charge can suppress number-changing processes and lead to the formation of stable localized charge clumps, i.e., $Q$ balls.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.96.076020

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The formation of Bose condensates far from equilibrium can play an important role in our understanding of collision experiments of heavy nuclei or for the evolution of the early Universe. In the relativistic quantum world particle number changing processes can counteract Bose condensation, and there is a considerable debate about the relevance of this phenomenon in this context. We show that the involved question of Bose condensation from initial overpopulation can be answered for the example of scalar field theories. Condensate formation occurs as a consequence of an inverse particle cascade with a universal power-law spectrum. This particle transport towards low momenta is part of a dual cascade, in which energy is also transferred by weak wave turbulence towards higher momenta. To highlight the importance of number changing processes for the subsequent decay of the condensate, we also compare to nonrelativistic theories with exact number conservation. We discuss the relevance of these results for non-Abelian gauge theories.
Relativistic scalar field theories with a conserved global charge Q often possess (meta) stable spherically symmetric soliton solutions, called Q-balls. We elaborate on the perfect formal analogy which exists between Q-balls and spherically symmetric solitons in certain non-relativistic atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, for which the dominant interatomic interaction can be tuned attractive. In a harmonic trap, present in existing experiments, the Q-ball solution is modified in an essential way. If the trap is significantly prolongated in one direction, however, then genuine solitons do appear, and actual experimental data can be obtained for some of the Q-ball properties studied numerically in the relativistic cosmological context, such as their formation and collisions. We also suggest conditions under which the same cosmologically relevant analogies could be extended to the fully three-dimensional case.
Relativistic scalar field theories with a conserved global charge Q often possess (meta)stable spherically symmetric soliton solutions, called Q-balls. We elaborate on the perfect formal analogy which exists between Q-balls and spherically symmetric solitons in certain non-relativistic atomic Bose–Einstein condensates, for which the dominant interatomic interaction can be tuned attractive. In a harmonic trap, present in existing experiments, the Q-ball solution is modified in an essential way. If the trap is significantly prolongated in one direction, however, then genuine solitons do appear, and actual experimental data can be obtained for some of the Q-ball properties studied numerically in the relativistic cosmological context, such as their formation and collisions. We also suggest conditions under which the same cosmologically relevant analogies could be extended to the fully three-dimensional case.
We study a relativistic scalar field model for self-bound Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) by analyzing a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation with cubic and logarithmic interactions. This framework captures essential features of quantum droplets, such as self-trapping and finite energy configurations, which emerge from the interplay between attractive and repulsive terms. By performing the non-relativistic limit, we derive a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a logarithmic correction, consistent with recent models used to describe ultra-cold atomic gasses beyond mean-field theory. We construct the corresponding Lagrangian density, identify conserved quantities via Noether's theorem, and compute the energy-momentum tensor. Numerical solutions of the BEC parameters are shown, establishing the foundations for a field theoretical description of relativistic condensates with a logarithmic interaction. This model provides a unified approach to investigate relativistic effects in quantum droplets and enriches the theoretical landscape of Bose-Einstein condensates with non-standard interactions. The resulting dynamics exhibit stable oscillatory regimes consistent with self-bound condensate configurations.
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Abstract We study the formation of a stable self-trapped spherical quantum ball in a binary Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) with two-body inter-species attraction and intra-species repulsion employing the beyond-mean-field Lee–Huang–Yang and the three-body interactions. We find that either of these interactions or a combination of them can stabilize the binary BEC quantum ball with very similar stationary results, and for a complete description of the problem both the terms should be considered. These interactions lead to higher-order nonlinearities, e.g. quartic and quintic, respectively, in a nonlinear dynamical equation compared to the cubic nonlinearity of the two-body contact interaction in the mean-field Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The higher-order nonlinearity makes the energy infinitely large at the center of the binary ball and thus avoids its collapse. In addition to the formation of stationary binary balls, we also study a collision between two such balls. At large velocities, the collision is found to be elastic, which turns out to be inelastic as the velocity is lowered. We consider the numerical solution of a beyond-mean-field model for the binary ball as well as a single-mode variational approximation to it in this study.