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

Physics and Chemistry of Liquids

Roton excitations in Bose–Einstein condensates and a fluid–solid transition

Norman Henry March, M. P. Tosi

Published Sep 15, 2005• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Several authors have recently discussed the existence of roton excitations in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) and considered how a roton dip in the dispersion curve of elementary excitations may be related to the formation of a spatially modulated ground state. Here attention is drawn to a theoretical study of Minguzzi et al. on interatomic correlations in a BEC from dipole–dipole interactions induced by laser light of increasing intensity. Attractive interactions in superfluid 4He and repulsive interactions in ‘untuned’ BECs are then compared and contrasted, the experiments of Woods and Cowley and of Greiner et al. providing the focus respectively. It is stressed that, contrary to a very recent assertion by Nazario and Santiago, 4He is crucially different from BECs at the lowest temperatures.

DOI
10.1080/00319100500162627

Related papers

Manifestations of the Roton in Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates

Ryan Wilson

Today, sixteen years after the realization of the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), the field of ultracold many-body physics is booming. In particular, much excitement has been generated by the prospect of creating a degenerate quantum gas of dipolar atoms or molecules. Already, some experimental groups have succeeded in Bose-condensing atomic 52Cr and 164Dy, while other groups have made significant progress towards achieving degeneracy of heteronuclear molecules, such as fermionic 40K87Rb and bosonic 87Rb133Cs, where the strength of the dipolar interaction promises to be much greater than that of the already rich 52Cr condensate. Just as the creation of BEC launched a whole new field of research, dipolar BECs are likely to do the same. However, such systems present a theoretical challenge due to the long-range, anisotropic nature of the dipolar interaction. In this thesis, I present a theoretical investigation of ultracold Bose gases with dipolar interactions.\nThe first part of this thesis is dedicated to the field theoretical treatment of a quantum Bose fluid with dipolar interactions in the ultracold, dilute regime, where the system is well-described by a classical condensate field with quasiparticle excitations. The set of nonlinear integrodifferential equations that describe these objects are derived and novel methods for solving them are presented that, in general, require intricate numerical treatment. Of particular importance is the emergence of a roton mode, reminiscent of that in superfluid 4He. In the second part of this thesis, I show how the roton plays a critical role in the ground state structure and dynamics of a dipolar BEC. Full numerical simulations show that the roton can, for example, be seen in the radial density profile of a quantized vortex state or in the angular collapse and explosion of a dipolar BEC. Additionally, I show the crucial role that this roton plays in determining the transition to superfluidity in these systems. Thus, a set of novel phenomena in ultracold dipolar Bose gases is explained by the presence of the roton, and experimental signatures of these phenomena are made clear.

•Jan 1, 2011•0 citations

Rotons in Gaseous Bose-Einstein Condensates Irradiated by a Laser

Duncan H J O’Dell, S. Giovanazzi, Gershon Kurizki

A gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate irradiated by a far off-resonance laser has long-range interatomic correlations caused by laser-induced dipole-dipole interactions. These correlations, which are tunable via the laser intensity and frequency, can produce a "roton" minimum in the excitation spectrum--behavior reminiscent of the strongly correlated superfluid liquid He II.

arXiv:cond-mat/0301028•Physical Review Letters•Mar 17, 2003•188 citations

Vortex to Rotons Transition in Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates

Alberto Villois, Miguel Onorato, Davide Proment

Dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates (dBECs) exhibit a plethora of physics phenomena, from supersolidity to the rotonlike minimum in the elementary excitation spectrum. In this work we first demonstrate the existence of axis-symmetric solitary waves in (quasi-)two-dimensional dBECs: these localized excitations are characterized by quantized vortex dipoles that continuously transit to vortex-free density depletions. We then show how the presence of the roton minimum fundamentally alters the fate of such solutions when approaching Landau’s critical speed: when propagating along the polarization direction where the roton minimum occurs, the solitary wave transits into roton excitations rather than into phonons as for standard contact-interaction BECs. This finding suggests that Feynman’s hypothesis, conjectured for 3D superfluid liquid helium regarding the creation of rotons as fading vortex excitations, is valid in the context of 2D dBECs.

Physical Review Letters•Jan 1, 2025•0 citations

Depletion of a Bose–Einstein condensate by laser-induced dipole–dipole interactions

I. E. Mazets, Duncan H J O’Dell, G Kurizki +2 more

We study a gaseous atomic Bose–Einstein condensate with laser-induced dipole–dipole interactions using the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov theory within the Popov approximation. The dipolar interactions introduce long-range atom–atom correlations which manifest themselves as increased depletion at momenta similar to that of the laser wavelength, as well as a ‘roton’ dip in the excitation spectrum. Surprisingly, the roton dip and the corresponding peak in the depletion are enhanced by raising the temperature above absolute zero.

arXiv:cond-mat/0310672•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Mar 24, 2004•31 citations

Vortex to Rotons Transition in Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates

Alberto Villois, Miguel Onorato, Davide Proment

Dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates (dBECs) exhibit a plethora of physics phenomena, from supersolidity to the rotonlike minimum in the elementary excitation spectrum. In this work we first demonstrate the existence of axis-symmetric solitary waves in (quasi-)two-dimensional dBECs: these localized excitations are characterized by quantized vortex dipoles that continuously transit to vortex-free density depletions. We then show how the presence of the roton minimum fundamentally alters the fate of such solutions when approaching Landau's critical speed: when propagating along the polarization direction where the roton minimum occurs, the solitary wave transits into roton excitations rather than into phonons as for standard contact-interaction BECs. This finding suggests that Feynman's hypothesis, conjectured for 3D superfluid liquid helium regarding the creation of rotons as fading vortex excitations, is valid in the context of 2D dBECs.

arXiv:2407.18412•Physical Review Letters•May 30, 2025•3 citations

The nature of superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensation: From liquid 4He to dilute ultracold atomic gases (Review Article)

S. I. Vilchynskyy, A. I. Yakimenko, Karyna Isaieva +1 more

We present a brief overview of crucial historical stages in creation of superfluidity theory and of the current state of the microscopic theory of superfluid 4He. We pay special attention to the role of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in understanding of physical mechanisms of superfluidity and identification of quantum mechanical structure of 4He superfluid component below λ-point, in particular—the possibility that at least two types of condensates may appear and coexist simultaneously in superfluid 4He. In this context we discuss the properties of the binary mixtures of BECs and types of excitations, which may appear due to intercomponent interaction in such binary mixtures of condensates. We also discuss current status of investigations of persistent currents in toroidal optical traps and present an outlook of our recent findings on this subject.

Low Temperature Physics•Sep 1, 2013•14 citations
Several authors have recently discussed the existence of roton excitations in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) and considered how a roton dip in the dispersion curve of elementary excitations may be related to the formation of a spatially modulated ground state. Here attention is drawn to a theoretical study of Minguzzi et al. on interatomic correlations in a BEC from dipole–dipole interactions induced by laser light of increasing intensity. Attractive interactions in superfluid 4He and repulsive interactions in ‘untuned’ BECs are then compared and contrasted, the experiments of Woods and Cowley and of Greiner et al. providing the focus respectively. It is stressed that, contrary to a very recent assertion by Nazario and Santiago, 4He is crucially different from BECs at the lowest temperatures.
Today, sixteen years after the realization of the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), the field of ultracold many-body physics is booming. In particular, much excitement has been generated by the prospect of creating a degenerate quantum gas of dipolar atoms or molecules. Already, some experimental groups have succeeded in Bose-condensing atomic 52Cr and 164Dy, while other groups have made significant progress towards achieving degeneracy of heteronuclear molecules, such as fermionic 40K87Rb and bosonic 87Rb133Cs, where the strength of the dipolar interaction promises to be much greater than that of the already rich 52Cr condensate. Just as the creation of BEC launched a whole new field of research, dipolar BECs are likely to do the same. However, such systems present a theoretical challenge due to the long-range, anisotropic nature of the dipolar interaction. In this thesis, I present a theoretical investigation of ultracold Bose gases with dipolar interactions.\nThe first part of this thesis is dedicated to the field theoretical treatment of a quantum Bose fluid with dipolar interactions in the ultracold, dilute regime, where the system is well-described by a classical condensate field with quasiparticle excitations. The set of nonlinear integrodifferential equations that describe these objects are derived and novel methods for solving them are presented that, in general, require intricate numerical treatment. Of particular importance is the emergence of a roton mode, reminiscent of that in superfluid 4He. In the second part of this thesis, I show how the roton plays a critical role in the ground state structure and dynamics of a dipolar BEC. Full numerical simulations show that the roton can, for example, be seen in the radial density profile of a quantized vortex state or in the angular collapse and explosion of a dipolar BEC. Additionally, I show the crucial role that this roton plays in determining the transition to superfluidity in these systems. Thus, a set of novel phenomena in ultracold dipolar Bose gases is explained by the presence of the roton, and experimental signatures of these phenomena are made clear.
Dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates (dBECs) exhibit a plethora of physics phenomena, from supersolidity to the rotonlike minimum in the elementary excitation spectrum. In this work we first demonstrate the existence of axis-symmetric solitary waves in (quasi-)two-dimensional dBECs: these localized excitations are characterized by quantized vortex dipoles that continuously transit to vortex-free density depletions. We then show how the presence of the roton minimum fundamentally alters the fate of such solutions when approaching Landau’s critical speed: when propagating along the polarization direction where the roton minimum occurs, the solitary wave transits into roton excitations rather than into phonons as for standard contact-interaction BECs. This finding suggests that Feynman’s hypothesis, conjectured for 3D superfluid liquid helium regarding the creation of rotons as fading vortex excitations, is valid in the context of 2D dBECs.
We study a gaseous atomic Bose–Einstein condensate with laser-induced dipole–dipole interactions using the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov theory within the Popov approximation. The dipolar interactions introduce long-range atom–atom correlations which manifest themselves as increased depletion at momenta similar to that of the laser wavelength, as well as a ‘roton’ dip in the excitation spectrum. Surprisingly, the roton dip and the corresponding peak in the depletion are enhanced by raising the temperature above absolute zero.
Dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates (dBECs) exhibit a plethora of physics phenomena, from supersolidity to the rotonlike minimum in the elementary excitation spectrum. In this work we first demonstrate the existence of axis-symmetric solitary waves in (quasi-)two-dimensional dBECs: these localized excitations are characterized by quantized vortex dipoles that continuously transit to vortex-free density depletions. We then show how the presence of the roton minimum fundamentally alters the fate of such solutions when approaching Landau's critical speed: when propagating along the polarization direction where the roton minimum occurs, the solitary wave transits into roton excitations rather than into phonons as for standard contact-interaction BECs. This finding suggests that Feynman's hypothesis, conjectured for 3D superfluid liquid helium regarding the creation of rotons as fading vortex excitations, is valid in the context of 2D dBECs.
We present a brief overview of crucial historical stages in creation of superfluidity theory and of the current state of the microscopic theory of superfluid 4He. We pay special attention to the role of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in understanding of physical mechanisms of superfluidity and identification of quantum mechanical structure of 4He superfluid component below λ-point, in particular—the possibility that at least two types of condensates may appear and coexist simultaneously in superfluid 4He. In this context we discuss the properties of the binary mixtures of BECs and types of excitations, which may appear due to intercomponent interaction in such binary mixtures of condensates. We also discuss current status of investigations of persistent currents in toroidal optical traps and present an outlook of our recent findings on this subject.