Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2412.05477 · Physical Review A

Vortex-lattice melting and critical temperature shift in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

Julián Amette Estrada, Marc Brächet, Pablo D. Mininni

Published Feb 4, 2025• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate a shift in the critical temperature of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates mediated by the melting of the vortex lattice. Numerical simulations reveal that this temperature exhibits contrasting behavior depending on the system configuration: a negative shift occurs for fixed trap potentials due to the expansion of the condensate, while a positive shift is observed for fixed volumes, where vortex-lattice rigidity suppresses thermal fluctuations. We introduce a vortex-energy model that captures the role of vortex interactions, the positional energy of the vortex lattice, as well as the phase transition and how the vortex lattice disappears. The findings provide insights into the thermodynamic properties of rotating condensates and the dynamics of vortex-lattice melting, offering potential parallels with other quantum systems such as type-II superconductors.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.111.023304

Related papers

Bose-Einstein condensation from a rotating thermal cloud: Vortex nucleation and lattice formation

Ashton S. Bradley, Crispin W. Gardiner, Matthew J. Davis

We develop a stochastic Gross-Pitaveskii theory suitable for the study of Bose-Einstein condensation in a rotating dilute Bose gas. The theory is used to model the dynamical and equilibrium properties of a rapidly rotating Bose gas quenched through the critical point for condensation, as in the experiment of Haljan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 210403 (2001)]. In contrast to stirring a vortex-free condensate, where topological constraints require that vortices enter from the edge of the condensate, we find that phase defects in the initial noncondensed cloud are trapped en masse in the emerging condensate. Bose-stimulated condensate growth proceeds into a disordered vortex configuration. At sufficiently low temperature the vortices then order into a regular Abrikosov lattice in thermal equilibrium with the rotating cloud. We calculate the effect of thermal fluctuations on vortex ordering in the final gas at different temperatures, and find that the BEC transition is accompanied by lattice melting associated with diminishing long-range correlations between vortices across the system.

arXiv:0712.3436•Physical Review A•Mar 14, 2008•108 citations

Dislocation-mediated melting in superfluid vortex lattices

S. Andrew Gifford, Gordon Baym

We describe thermal melting of the two-dimensional vortex lattice in a rotating superfluid by generalizing the Halperin and Nelson theory of dislocation-mediated melting and derive a melting temperature proportional to the renormalized shear modulus of the vortex lattice. The rigid-body rotation of the superfluid attenuates the effects of lattice compression on the energy of dislocations and hence the melting temperature, while not affecting the shearing. Finally, we discuss dislocations and thermal melting in inhomogeneous rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates; we delineate a phase diagram in the temperature--rotation rate plane, and infer that the thermal melting temperature should lie below the Bose-Einstein transition temperature.

arXiv:0807.2436•Physical Review A•Oct 10, 2008•14 citations

Rotating vortex lattice in a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in combined quadratic and quartic radial potentials

Alexander L. Fetter

A dense vortex lattice in a rotating dilute Bose-Einstein condensate is studied with the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The upper critical angular velocity ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ occurs when the intervortex separation b becomes comparable with the vortex-core radius $\ensuremath{\xi}.$ For a radial harmonic trap, the loss of confinement as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ implies a singular behavior. In contrast, an additional radial quartic potential provides a simple model for which ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ is readily determined. Unlike the case of a type-II superconductor at fixed temperature, the onset of ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ arises not only from decreasing b but also from increasing $\ensuremath{\xi}$ caused by the vanishing of the chemical potential as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}.$

arXiv:cond-mat/0109418•Physical Review A•Nov 14, 2001•160 citations

Classical field simulation of vortex lattice melting in a two-dimensional fast rotating Bose gas

Sálvio Jacob Bereta, Lucas Madeira, M. A. Caracanhas +2 more

Abstract We present a classical field simulation study of the thermal melting of a two-dimensional (2D) vortex lattice in a rotating Bose gas, focusing on the role of finite-size effects on the melting temperature. This work constitutes a numerical continuation of the recent experimental investigation reported in (Sharma 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 133 143401), which addressed the thermal melting of a vortex lattice in a quasi-2D Bose gas. Using the stochastic projected Gross–Pitaevskii equation in a harmonic plus quartic trap, we simulate the finite-temperature equilibrium state and extract vortex configurations from density snapshots. Clear signatures of the two-step Kosterlitz–Thouless–Halperin–Nelson–Young melting scenario are identified. Our simulations enable a detailed characterization of the crystalline, hexatic, and liquid phases through correlation functions quantifying the translational and orientational order and through defect statistics. Finite-size effects are shown to play a crucial role at lower rotation frequencies, affecting the proliferation of lattice defects.

New Journal of Physics•Jun 1, 2026•0 citations

Classical field simulation of vortex lattice melting in a two-dimensional fast rotating Bose gas

Sálvio Jacob Bereta, Lucas Madeira, M. A. Caracanhas +2 more

We present a classical field simulation study of the thermal melting of a two-dimensional vortex lattice in a rotating Bose gas, focusing on the role of finite-size effects on the melting temperature. This work constitutes a numerical continuation of the recent experimental investigation reported in [Physical Review Letters 133, 143401 (2024)], which addressed the thermal melting of a vortex lattice in a quasi-two-dimensional Bose gas. Using the stochastic projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation in a harmonic plus quartic trap, we simulate the finite-temperature equilibrium state and extract vortex configurations from density snapshots. Clear signatures of the two-step Kosterlitz--Thouless--Halperin--Nelson--Young melting scenario are identified. Our simulations enable a detailed characterization of the crystalline, hexatic, and liquid phases through correlation functions quantifying the translational and orientational order and through defect statistics. Finite-size effects are shown to play a crucial role at lower rotation frequencies, affecting the proliferation of lattice defects.

arXiv:2603.01911•Mar 2, 2026•0 citations

Vortex Lattices in Rapidly Rotating Bose -Einstein Condensates: Modes, Elasticity, and Melting

S. Andrew Gifford

"We approach the static elasticity of a vortex lattice using the elastohydrodyamic approach. We derive the elastic Green's function for the vortex lattice, and connect it to the lattice distortion in an inhomogeneous condensate. We find that the longitudinal elastic response of a vortex lattice is screened by the effect of the ""global"" fluid velocity, but the shear response remains the same as conventional elastic systems. Applying the theory of dislocation-mediated melting to the vortex lattice, we find that the lattice melts at a temperature depending only on the shear modulus. Finally, we apply the theory of melting to trapped rapidly rotating BECs."

•Jan 1, 2007•0 citations
We investigate a shift in the critical temperature of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates mediated by the melting of the vortex lattice. Numerical simulations reveal that this temperature exhibits contrasting behavior depending on the system configuration: a negative shift occurs for fixed trap potentials due to the expansion of the condensate, while a positive shift is observed for fixed volumes, where vortex-lattice rigidity suppresses thermal fluctuations. We introduce a vortex-energy model that captures the role of vortex interactions, the positional energy of the vortex lattice, as well as the phase transition and how the vortex lattice disappears. The findings provide insights into the thermodynamic properties of rotating condensates and the dynamics of vortex-lattice melting, offering potential parallels with other quantum systems such as type-II superconductors.
We develop a stochastic Gross-Pitaveskii theory suitable for the study of Bose-Einstein condensation in a rotating dilute Bose gas. The theory is used to model the dynamical and equilibrium properties of a rapidly rotating Bose gas quenched through the critical point for condensation, as in the experiment of Haljan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 210403 (2001)]. In contrast to stirring a vortex-free condensate, where topological constraints require that vortices enter from the edge of the condensate, we find that phase defects in the initial noncondensed cloud are trapped en masse in the emerging condensate. Bose-stimulated condensate growth proceeds into a disordered vortex configuration. At sufficiently low temperature the vortices then order into a regular Abrikosov lattice in thermal equilibrium with the rotating cloud. We calculate the effect of thermal fluctuations on vortex ordering in the final gas at different temperatures, and find that the BEC transition is accompanied by lattice melting associated with diminishing long-range correlations between vortices across the system.
We describe thermal melting of the two-dimensional vortex lattice in a rotating superfluid by generalizing the Halperin and Nelson theory of dislocation-mediated melting and derive a melting temperature proportional to the renormalized shear modulus of the vortex lattice. The rigid-body rotation of the superfluid attenuates the effects of lattice compression on the energy of dislocations and hence the melting temperature, while not affecting the shearing. Finally, we discuss dislocations and thermal melting in inhomogeneous rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates; we delineate a phase diagram in the temperature--rotation rate plane, and infer that the thermal melting temperature should lie below the Bose-Einstein transition temperature.
A dense vortex lattice in a rotating dilute Bose-Einstein condensate is studied with the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The upper critical angular velocity ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ occurs when the intervortex separation b becomes comparable with the vortex-core radius $\ensuremath{\xi}.$ For a radial harmonic trap, the loss of confinement as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ implies a singular behavior. In contrast, an additional radial quartic potential provides a simple model for which ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ is readily determined. Unlike the case of a type-II superconductor at fixed temperature, the onset of ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}$ arises not only from decreasing b but also from increasing $\ensuremath{\xi}$ caused by the vanishing of the chemical potential as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c2}.$
Abstract We present a classical field simulation study of the thermal melting of a two-dimensional (2D) vortex lattice in a rotating Bose gas, focusing on the role of finite-size effects on the melting temperature. This work constitutes a numerical continuation of the recent experimental investigation reported in (Sharma 2024 Phys. Rev. Lett. 133 143401), which addressed the thermal melting of a vortex lattice in a quasi-2D Bose gas. Using the stochastic projected Gross–Pitaevskii equation in a harmonic plus quartic trap, we simulate the finite-temperature equilibrium state and extract vortex configurations from density snapshots. Clear signatures of the two-step Kosterlitz–Thouless–Halperin–Nelson–Young melting scenario are identified. Our simulations enable a detailed characterization of the crystalline, hexatic, and liquid phases through correlation functions quantifying the translational and orientational order and through defect statistics. Finite-size effects are shown to play a crucial role at lower rotation frequencies, affecting the proliferation of lattice defects.
We present a classical field simulation study of the thermal melting of a two-dimensional vortex lattice in a rotating Bose gas, focusing on the role of finite-size effects on the melting temperature. This work constitutes a numerical continuation of the recent experimental investigation reported in [Physical Review Letters 133, 143401 (2024)], which addressed the thermal melting of a vortex lattice in a quasi-two-dimensional Bose gas. Using the stochastic projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation in a harmonic plus quartic trap, we simulate the finite-temperature equilibrium state and extract vortex configurations from density snapshots. Clear signatures of the two-step Kosterlitz--Thouless--Halperin--Nelson--Young melting scenario are identified. Our simulations enable a detailed characterization of the crystalline, hexatic, and liquid phases through correlation functions quantifying the translational and orientational order and through defect statistics. Finite-size effects are shown to play a crucial role at lower rotation frequencies, affecting the proliferation of lattice defects.
"We approach the static elasticity of a vortex lattice using the elastohydrodyamic approach. We derive the elastic Green's function for the vortex lattice, and connect it to the lattice distortion in an inhomogeneous condensate. We find that the longitudinal elastic response of a vortex lattice is screened by the effect of the ""global"" fluid velocity, but the shear response remains the same as conventional elastic systems. Applying the theory of dislocation-mediated melting to the vortex lattice, we find that the lattice melts at a temperature depending only on the shear modulus. Finally, we apply the theory of melting to trapped rapidly rotating BECs."