Superfluid Bose systems

S. I. Shevchenko

A well-known paradox in the theory of superfluidity is studied: superfluidity is linked to Bose condensation, but the superfluid density is always greater than the density of the Bose condensate. Based on the model of a weakly nonideal Bose gas, it is demonstrated that supercondensate particles, forming pairs which are correlated in momentum space—the two-particle condensate—make the missing contribution to the superfluid density. It is shown that in the case of slow spatial variations of superfluid flows it is possible to introduce a macroscopic wave function describing the entire superfluid component and not only the single-particle condensate. The characteristic features of weak superfluidity in Bose systems are studied and it is shown that the tunneling effect is a sensitive tool for studying the structure of the superfluid component. It is hypothesized that the superfluid component of real He II consists of the sum of one-, two-, three-, and many-particle condensates.

Zygmunt M. Galasiewicz

Juhao Wu, A. Widom

There is a long standing problem about how close a connection exists between superfluidity and Bose condensation. Employing recent technology, for the case of confined finite Bose condensed systems in TOP traps, these questions concerning superfluidity and Bose condensation can be partially resolved if the velocity profile of the trapped atoms can be directly measured.

Bipin R. Desai

Zhidong Hao

We present a microscopic theory for superfluidity in an interacting many-particle Bose system (such as liquid $^4$He). We show that, similar to superconductivity in superconductors, superfluidity in a Bose system arises from pairing of particles of opposite momenta. We show the existence of an energy gap in single-particle excitation spectrum in the superfluid state and the existence of a specific heat jump at the superfluid transition. We derive an expression for superfluid particle density $n_s$ as a function of temperature $T$ and superfluid velocity ${\bf v}_s$. We show that superfluid-state free energy density $F$ is an increasing function of $v_s$ (i.e., $\partial F/\partial v_s > 0$), which indicates that a superfluid has a tendency to remain motionless (this result qualitatively explains the Hess-Fairbank effect, which is analogous to the Meissner effect in superconductors). We further speculate the existence of the equation ${\bf j}=-Λ\nabla\times \text{\boldmath $ω$}$, where ${\bf j} = n_s{\bf v}_s$ is the superfluid current density, $\text{\boldmath $ω$}=\nabla\times {\bf v}_s$ the superfluid vorticity, and $Λ$ a positive constant (with the help of this equation, the Hess-Fairbank effect can be quantitatively described).