The splitting instability of a doubly quantized vortex in the BEC-BCS crossover of a superfluid Fermi gas is investigated by means of a low-energy effective field theory. Our linear stability analysis and nonequilibrium numerical simulations reveal that the character of the instability drastically changes across the crossover. In the BEC limit, the splitting of the vortex into two singly quantized vortices occurs through the emission of phonons, while such an emission is completely absent in the BCS limit. In the crossover regime, the instability and phonon emission are enhanced and the lifetime of a doubly quantized vortex becomes minimal. The emitted phonon can be observed as a spiraling pattern amplified due to the rotational superradiance, known as a mechanism to carry away energy and angular momentum from a spinning black hole. We also investigate the influence of temperature, population imbalance, and three-dimensional effects.
We study numerically the dynamical instabilities and splitting of singly and doubly quantized composite vortices in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates harmonically confined to quasi two dimensions. In this system, the vortices become pointlike composite defects that can be classified in terms of an integer pair $({\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{1},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{2})$ of phase winding numbers. Our simulations based on zero-temperature mean-field theory reveal several vortex splitting behaviors that stem from the multicomponent nature of the system and do not have direct counterparts in single-component condensates. By calculating the Bogoliubov excitations of stationary axisymmetric composite vortices, we find nonreal excitation frequencies (i.e., dynamical instabilities) for the singly quantized
(1,1) and $(1,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{-}1)$ vortices and for all variants of doubly quantized vortices, which we define by the condition ${max}_{j=1,2}|{\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{j}|=2$. While the short-time predictions of the linear Bogoliubov analysis are confirmed by direct time integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations of motion, the time integration also reveals intricate long-time decay behavior not captured by the linearized dynamics. First, the $(1,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$ vortex is found to be unstable against splitting into a
(1,0) vortex and a $(0,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$ vortex. Second, the
(2,1) vortex exhibits a two-step decay process in which its initial splitting into a
(2,0) vortex and a
(0,1) vortex is followed by the off-axis splitting of the
(2,0) vortex into two
(1,0) vortices. Third, the $(2,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{-}2)$ vortex is observed to split into a $(\ensuremath{-}1,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}1)$ vortex, three
(1,0) vortices, and three $(0,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{-}1)$ vortices. Each of these splitting processes is the dominant decay mechanism of the respective stationary composite vortex for a wide range of intercomponent interaction strengths and relative populations of the two condensate components and should be amenable to experimental detection. Our results contribute to a better understanding of vortex physics, hydrodynamic instabilities, and two-dimensional quantum turbulence in multicomponent superfluids.
The stability of doubly quantized vortices in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates of
23Na is examined at zero temperature. The eigenmode spectrum of the Bogoliubov equations for a harmonically trapped cigar-shaped condensate is computed and it is found that the doubly quantized vortex is spectrally unstable towards division into two singly quantized vortices. By numerically solving the full three-dimensional time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, it is found that the two singly quantized vortices intertwine before decaying. This work provides an interpretation of recent experiments [A. E. Leanhardt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 190403 (2002)].
Abstract Utilizing the dissipative Gross–Pitaevskii equation, we investigated the splitting dynamics of triply quantized vortices at finite temperature. Through linear perturbation analysis, we determined the excitation modes of these vortices across various dissipation parameters. We identified three unstable modes with p = 2-, 3- and 4-fold rotational symmetries, revealing a significant dynamic transition of the most unstable mode. That is, as the dissipation parameter increases the most unstable mode transitions from the p = 2 mode to the p = 3 mode. Throughout the entire range of dissipation parameters, the p = 4 unstable mode is never the dominant mode. Subsequently, we performed nonlinear numerical simulations of the vortex splitting process. Under random perturbations we confirmed the dynamical transition, and under specific perturbations we confirmed the instability of the p = 4 mode. Our findings on the finite temperature dependence of the splitting dynamics of triply quantized vortices are expected to be verifiable in experiments.
The dynamical instabilities and ensuing dynamics of singly and doubly quantized vortex states of Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interactions are investigated using full three-dimensional numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. With increasing the strength of attractive interactions, a series of dynamical instabilities such as quadrupole, dipole, octupole, and monopole instabilities emerge. The most prominent instability depends on the strength of interactions, the geometry of the trapping potential, and deviations from the axisymmetry due to external perturbations. Singly quantized vortices split into two clusters and subsequently undergo split-merge cycles in a pancake-shaped trap, whereas the split fragments immediately collapse in a spherical trap. Doubly quantized vortices are always unstable to disintegration of the vortex core. If we suddenly change the strength of interaction to within a certain range, the vortex splits into three clusters, and one of the clusters collapses after a few split-merge cycles. The vortex split can be observed using a current experimental setup of Leanhardt et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 190403 (2002)].
The splitting process of quadruply charged vortices into less charged vortices is studied at zero temperature. We solve the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equation numerically and classify the excitations by angular momentum l relative to the condensates. Unstable modes having complex eigenvalues appear when l = 2-6. It is found that two excitations are coupled with each other when their total energy and angular momentum are zero and yield a pair of complex eigenvalues. The decay process is also numerically simulated by solving the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The behavior of a condensate shows good agreement with the results of BdG. The quadruply charged vortex splits into four singly quantized vortices, which are arranged as a line, triangle, and square according to the angular momentum of the excited eigenmode. We also observe the effect of nonlinearity.