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Quantized vortices in a Bose-Einstein condensate: thermal activation and dynamic nucleation

Sabine Stock

Published Jan 13, 2006• 4 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

This thesis manuscript presents experimental results on Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices and in the regime of fast rotation. In an optical lattice an array of inde-pendent 2-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates is produced from an initially 3-dimen-sional cloud. The number of 2D BECs in this array can be controlled by superimposing a magnetic field gradient along the axis of the lattice and then selectively evaporating the sites. When producing a small number of sites and letting them interfere, dislocations in the interference pattern were observed, which must be due to nontrivial phase defects, as for example free vortices. Such vortices and vortex-antivortex pairs play an important role in the superfluid to normal phase transition in a 2-dimensional gas, the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. With 3-dimensional condensates the limit of fast rotation is studied in a hybrid potential contain-ing a small quartic term. In this trap rotation frequencies larger than the harmonic trapping fre-quency can be reached. These experiments are a first step to a possible observation of strongly correlated states close to the regime of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

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This thesis manuscript presents experimental results on Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices and in the regime of fast rotation. In an optical lattice an array of inde-pendent 2-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates is produced from an initially 3-dimen-sional cloud. The number of 2D BECs in this array can be controlled by superimposing a magnetic field gradient along the axis of the lattice and then selectively evaporating the sites. When producing a small number of sites and letting them interfere, dislocations in the interference pattern were observed, which must be due to nontrivial phase defects, as for example free vortices. Such vortices and vortex-antivortex pairs play an important role in the superfluid to normal phase transition in a 2-dimensional gas, the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. With 3-dimensional condensates the limit of fast rotation is studied in a hybrid potential contain-ing a small quartic term. In this trap rotation frequencies larger than the harmonic trapping fre-quency can be reached. These experiments are a first step to a possible observation of strongly correlated states close to the regime of the fractional quantum Hall effect.
We report the observation of vortex nucleation in a rotating optical lattice. A 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate was loaded into a static two-dimensional lattice and the rotation frequency of the lattice was then increased from zero. We studied how vortex nucleation depended on optical lattice depth and rotation frequency. For deep lattices above the chemical potential of the condensate we observed a linear dependence of the number of vortices created with the rotation frequency, even below the thermodynamic critical frequency required for vortex nucleation. At these lattice depths the system formed an array of Josephson-coupled condensates. The effective magnetic field produced by rotation introduced characteristic relative phases between neighboring condensates, such that vortices were observed upon ramping down the lattice depth and recombining the condensates.
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.
After reviewing the ideal Bose-Einstein gas in a box and in a harmonic trap, I discuss the effect of interactions on the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), along with the dynamics of small-amplitude perturbations (the Bogoliubov equations). When the condensate rotates with angular velocity Omega, one or several vortices nucleate, with many observable consequences. With more rapid rotation, the vortices form a dense triangular array, and the collective behavior of these vortices has additional experimental implications. For Omega near the radial trap frequency omega_perp, the lowest-Landau-level approximation becomes applicable, providing a simple picture of such rapidly rotating condensates. Eventually, as Omega approaches omega_perp, the rotating dilute gas is expected to undergo a quantum phase transition from a superfluid to various highly correlated (nonsuperfluid) states analogous to those familiar from the fractional quantum Hall effect for electrons in a strong perpendicular magnetic field.
After reviewing the ideal Bose-Einstein gas in a box and in a harmonic trap, the effect of interactions on the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate are discussed, along with the dynamics of small-amplitude perturbations (the Bogoliubov equations). When the condensate rotates with angular velocity $\ensuremath{\Omega}$, one or several vortices nucleate, leading to many observable consequences. With more rapid rotation, the vortices form a dense triangular array, and the collective behavior of these vortices has additional experimental implications. For $\ensuremath{\Omega}$ near the radial trap frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, the lowest-Landau-level approximation becomes applicable, providing a simple picture of such rapidly rotating condensates. Eventually, as $\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, the rotating dilute gas is expected to undergo a quantum phase transition from a superfluid to various highly correlated (nonsuperfluid) states analogous to those familiar from the fractional quantum Hall effect for electrons in a strong perpendicular magnetic field.
Quantized vortices play a key role in superfluidity and superconductivity. We have observed the formation of highly ordered vortex lattices in a rotating Bose-condensed gas. These triangular lattices contained over 100 vortices with lifetimes of several seconds. Individual vortices persisted up to 40 seconds. The lattices could be generated over a wide range of rotation frequencies and trap geometries, shedding light on the formation process. Our observation of dislocations, irregular structure, and dynamics indicates that gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates may be a model system for the study of vortex matter.
In this review, we give an overview of the experimental and theoretical advances in the physics of quantized vortices in dilute atomic-gas Bose--Einstein condensates in a trapping potential, especially focusing on experimental research activities and their theoretical interpretations. Making good use of the atom optical technique, the experiments have revealed many novel structural and dynamic properties of quantized vortices by directly visualizing vortex cores from an image of the density profiles. These results lead to a deep understanding of superfluid hydrodynamics of such systems. Typically, vortices are stabilized by a rotating potential created by a laser beam, magnetic field, and thermal gas. Finite size effects and inhomogeneity of the system, originating from the confinement by the trapping potential, yield unique vortex dynamics coupled with the collective excitations of the condensate. Measuring the frequencies of the collective modes is an accurate tool for clarifying the character of the vortex state. The topics included in this review are the mechanism of vortex formation, equilibrium properties, and dynamics of a single vortex and those of a vortex lattice in a rapidly rotating condensate.