A vortex molecule is a topological excitation in two coherently coupled superfluids consisting of a vortex in each superfluid connected by a domain wall of the relative phase, also known as a Josephson vortex. We investigate the dynamics of this excitation in a quasi-two-dimensional geometry with slab or channel boundary conditions using an extended point-vortex framework complemented by Gross-Pitaevskii simulations. Apart from translational motion along the channel, the vortex molecule is found to exhibit intriguing internal dynamics including rotation and rotational-pendulum-like dynamics. Trajectories leading to a boundary-induced breakup of the vortex molecule are also described qualitatively by the simplified model. We classify the stable and unstable fixed points as well as separatrices that characterize the vortex molecule dynamics.
A vortex molecule is a topological excitation in two coherently coupled superfluids consisting of a vortex in each superfluid connected by a domain wall of the relative phase, also known as a Josephson vortex. We investigate the dynamics of this excitation in a quasi-two-dimensional geometry with slab or channel boundary conditions using an extended point-vortex framework complemented by Gross-Pitaevskii simulations. Apart from translational motion along the channel, the vortex molecule is found to exhibit intriguing internal dynamics including rotation and rotational-pendulum-like dynamics. Trajectories leading to a boundary-induced breakup of the vortex molecule are also described qualitatively by the simplified model. We classify the stable and unstable fixed points as well as separatrices that characterize the vortex molecule dynamics.
We analyze the effect of a hard wall trapping potential on the dynamics of a vortex molecule in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate with linear coherent coupling. A vortex molecule consists of a vortex of the same charge in each component condensate connected by a domain wall of the relative phase. In a previous paper [S. Choudhury and J. Brand, Phys. Rev. A 106, 043319 (2022)] we described the interaction of a vortex molecule with the boundary using the method of images by separately treating each component vortex as a point vortex, in addition to a Magnus force effect from the surface tension of the domain wall. Here we extend the model by considering a continuous distribution of image vorticity reflecting the effect of the domain wall on the vortex molecule phase structure. In the case of a precessing centered vortex molecule in an isotropic trap, distributing the image vorticity weakens its contribution to the precession frequency. We test the model predictions against numerical simulations of the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations in a two-dimensional circular disk and find support for the improved model.
A vortex molecule is predicted in rotating two-component Bose-Einstein condensates whose internal hyperfine states are coupled coherently by an external field. A vortex in one component and one in the other are connected by a domain wall of the relative phase, constituting a "vortex molecule," which features a nonaxisymmetric (pseudo)spin texture with a pair of merons. The binding mechanism of the vortex molecule is discussed based on a generalized nonlinear sigma model and a variational ansatz. The anisotropy of vortex molecules is caused by the difference in the scattering lengths, yielding a distorted vortex-molecule lattice in fast rotating condensates.
The dynamics of a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate mixture, loaded into a dual-core trap, when the beyond-mean-field effects are taken into account, are considered. The effects of quantum fluctuations are described by the Lee-Huang-Yang correction terms in the extended coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations (GPE). The spatially uniform and inhomogeneous condensate cases are studied. In the first case, the parameter regimes associated with macroscopic quantum tunneling, macroscopic self-trapping, and revival-like localization dynamics are found. The Josephson oscillation frequencies for both the zero-phase and the π -phase modes are derived. As the total atom number is varied, the dynamics exhibit a nontrivial bifurcation structure: along the zero-phase branch, two successive pitchfork bifurcations generate bistability and hysteresis, while the π -phase branch shows a single pitchfork bifurcation. In the second case, the Josephson dynamics for quantum droplets and vortices are investigated. The analytical predictions for the oscillation frequencies of the atomic population between quantum droplets are found, and results are validated by direct numerical simulations of the system of coupled extended GPE. The existence of the Andreev-Bashkin nondissipative drag through simulations of droplet-droplet interactions is shown. The Josephson dynamics of vortex states are studied. It was found that vortices with topological charge S and sufficiently small particle number are typically unstable, breaking up into S + 1 (and occasionally S + 2 ) fundamental, nonvortical fragments, with the time to breakup increasing as the particle number grows. It is also found that unstable asymmetric vortices exhibit the splitting and/or crescentlike instability. For vortices with sufficiently large norms, long-time simulations confirm robust stability against small perturbations. In this stable regime, the properties of Josephson oscillations and Andreev-Bashkin-type entrainment for vortex states with charges S = 1 , 2 , and 3 are investigated.
As is well known, two-dimensional and three-dimensional superfluids under rotation can support topological excitations such as quantized point vortices and line vortices, respectively. Recently, we have studied how, in a hypothetical four-dimensional (4D) superfluid, such excitations can be generalized to vortex planes and surfaces. In this paper we continue our analysis of skewed and curved vortex surfaces based on the 4D Gross-Pitaevskii equation and show that certain types of such states can be stabilized by equal-frequency double rotations for suitable parameters. This work extends the rich phenomenology of vortex surfaces in four dimensions and raises interesting questions about vortex reconnections and the competition between various vortex structures which have no direct analog in lower dimensions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We study the motion of a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate confined to an anisotropic trap. We focus on a system of ordinary differential equations describing the vortices' motion, which is in turn a reduced model of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation describing the condensate's motion. Using a sequence of canonical changes of variables, we reduce the dimension and simplify the equations of motion. We uncover two interesting regimes. Near a family of periodic orbits known as guiding centers, we find that the dynamics is essentially that of a pendulum coupled to a linear oscillator, leading to stochastic reversals in the overall direction of rotation of the dipole. Near the separatrix orbit in the isotropic system, we find other families of periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic trajectories. In a neighborhood of the guiding center orbits, we derive an explicit iterated map that simplifies the problem further. Numerical calculations are used to illustrate the phenomena discovered through the analysis. Using the results from the reduced system we are able to construct complex periodic orbits in the original, partial differential equation, mean-field model for Bose-Einstein condensates, which corroborates the phenomenology observed in the reduced dynamical equations.
We review the topic of quantized vortices in multicomponent Bose–Einstein condensates of dilute atomic gases, with an emphasis on the two-component condensates. First, we review the fundamental structure, stability and dynamics of a single vortex state in a slowly rotating two-component condensates. To understand recent experimental results, we use the coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations and the generalized nonlinear sigma model. An axisymmetric vortex state, which was observed by the JILA group, can be regarded as a topologically trivial skyrmion in the pseudospin representation. The internal, coherent coupling between the two components breaks the axisymmetry of the vortex state, resulting in a stable vortex molecule (a meron pair). We also mention unconventional vortex states and monopole excitations in a spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensate. Next, we discuss a rich variety of vortex states realized in rapidly rotating two-component Bose–Einstein condensates. We introduce a phase diagram with axes of rotation frequency and the intercomponent coupling strength. This phase diagram reveals unconventional vortex states such as a square lattice, a double-core lattice, vortex stripes and vortex sheets, all of which are in an experimentally accessible parameter regime. The coherent coupling leads to an effective attractive interaction between two components, providing not only a promising candidate to tune the intercomponent interaction to study the rich vortex phases but also a new regime to explore vortex states consisting of vortex molecules characterized by anisotropic vorticity. A recent experiment by the JILA group vindicated the formation of a square vortex lattice in this system.