A quantum droplet is a self-bound state balanced by the mean-field interaction and Lee–Huang–Yang correction in a Bose–Bose mixture. In this paper, we study the collisional dynamics of two-dimensional quantum droplets with a vortex. By adjusting the initial momentum, the initial phase difference, the topological charge of the quantum droplets, and the total number of particles, we identify three dynamic mechanisms of collisions, namely, splitting, no-splitting, and their crossover according to the states after collision, which are significantly different from the merging, separation, and evaporation of the collisional dynamics of vortex-free droplets. The initial phase difference of the two droplets changes the interference fringes and the manner of splitting of the droplets. We also show that the three-body loss of atoms does not affect the result.
Recently bosonic quantum Hall droplets have been observed in rapidly rotating two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), which exhibit robust dynamical stability. Inspired by this, we systematically investigate the collision and coalescence dynamics of these droplets within the Gross-Pitaevskii framework. For two-droplet collisions, we find two distinct collision outcomes, namely merging and separation, that are controlled by the initial relative velocity. The critical velocity exhibits a universal scaling law with the interaction and the particle number as
vc∝(gN)1/4, which can be interpreted from a simplified analytical model, revealing the essential role of the collision time. It differs fundamentally from the mechanism governing the conventional Lee-Huang-Yang stabilized quantum droplets. Furthermore, while the collision can change the shape of the droplet significantly, the center of mass trajectory remains nearly unaffected, owing to the conservation of angular momentum. For overlapping stationary droplets, vortex arrays can emerge through Kelvin-Helmholtz instability driven by phase-induced shear flow. Although two droplets may merge into a larger one, extended states cannot be constructed from multiple overlapping droplets. Instead, the system dynamically reorganizes into new isolated droplets, revealing the localized property in the bulk region. Our results reveal the unique nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum Hall droplets and suggest new pathways for manipulating strongly correlated rotating quantum fluids.
Abstract We systematically explore isotropic self-bound liquid states and topological vortex excitations in two-dimensional binary Bose-Einstein condensates with tunable Rydberg soft-core interactions, modeled by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation incorporating the two-dimensional Lee-Huang-Yang quantum correction. Combining analytical Thomas-Fermi treatment with high-precision numerical simulations, we obtain stable fundamental and vortex-carrying quantum droplet solutions and investigate their collisional dynamics. The particle number N and Rydberg coupling strength κ are shown to systematically modulate the spatial and thermodynamic properties of both vortex-free and ring-shaped vortex liquids. In the repulsive regime κ > 0, our results agree quantitatively with those of magnetic quadrupolar condensates, confirming a common stabilization scenario for two-dimensional quantum fluids. More importantly, the Rydberg system distinguishes itself by offering fully isotropic, sign-switchable interactions and sustaining stable vortex droplets with winding numbers up to m = 4 over broad parameter ranges—features that are severely constrained in anisotropic quadrupolar counterparts.Collisions between moving zero-vorticity and vortex self-bound droplets are briefly discussed, demonstrate that their collisional dynamics are universal under the competing nonlocal repulsion and the logarithmic Lee-Huang-Yang effect.
Bose-Einstein condensation(BEC) has been a research hotspot in cold atom physics for the past few decades. Recently, experiments on BECs have reported the observation of liquid-like quantum droplets, attracting significant interest. The physics for forming quantum droplets can be explained by zero-point quantum fluctuation which effectively prohibit the collapse caused by the mean-field interactions between the atoms. The stabilization mechanism beyond the mean-field theory, induced by quantum fluctuations, can be described by the Lee–Huang–Yang(LHY) correction. Normally, forming stable 2D or 3D solitons in free space is a challenging problem. Additionally, an intriguing question is how to generate 2D or 3D solitons with embedded vorticity. The LHY stability mechanism offers a new approach to producing stable solitons and vortex solitons in BECs. In this thesis, two-dimensional vortex quantum droplets in Bose-Einstein condensates, including those with and without external potential, are examined. The study of solitons and vortex solitons in BECs under mean-field interactions and external potential has yielded significant results. This thesis expands this field by introducing the LHY correction to study stable quantum droplets and vortex droplets in BECs. The work chapters begin with studying binary quantum droplets in free space, considering the case where interspecies interactions are weakly attractive and intraspecies interactions are weakly repulsive. The zero-vorticity, semi-vortex, and binary vortex quantum droplets are studied in Chapter 3. Stable semi-vortex quantum droplets with embedded vorticity up to 8 are found in this system. This result gives a way to form stable vortex droplets with high topological charges in free space by controlling one component with zero vorticity and the other component with embedded vorticity. The stability and properties of these droplets are systematically studied. Chapter 4 explores the vortex quantum droplets and hidden vortex droplets confined within a radial lattice trap. It is found that the existence curves of the droplets confined within this optical trap could violate the Vakhitov-Kolokolov(VK) criterion, which is a necessary condition to form a stable soliton. A remarkable finding is that the vortex and hidden vortex quantum droplets in this radial lattice remain stable when they carry the embedded vorticity up to 11. The double-ring vortex and hidden vortex quantum droplets confined within this radial lattice are also discussed. The work expands from non-magnetic atoms to magnetic atoms in Chapter 5, which needs to consider the dipole-dipole interactions(DDIs). The anisotropic dipolar vortex quantum droplets trapped in an annular potential are studied. Under the effect of the ring shape potential, the double peak ring-shaped vortex droplets remain stable when they carry the embedded vorticity up to 11. It is the first time stable droplets with high topological charges have been formed in a dipolar system. Additionally, the shape transformation of dipolar vortex droplets induced by the strength of the mean-field interaction is examined. Finally, the behavior of dipolar vortex droplets confined within a weak-depth annular potential is also discussed. The results of this thesis may prove highly useful in creating stable vortex quantum droplets in Bose-Einstein condensates and advancing the broader field of ultracold atoms.
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.
Bose-Einstein condensation(BEC) has been a research hotspot in cold atom physics for the past few decades. Recently, experiments on BECs have reported the observation of liquid-like quantum droplets, attracting significant interest. The physics for forming quantum droplets can be explained by zero-point quantum fluctuation which effectively prohibit the collapse caused by the mean-field interactions between the atoms. The stabilization mechanism beyond the mean-field theory, induced by quantum fluctuations, can be described by the Lee–Huang–Yang(LHY) correction. Normally, forming stable 2D or 3D solitons in free space is a challenging problem. Additionally, an intriguing question is how to generate 2D or 3D solitons with embedded vorticity. The LHY stability mechanism offers a new approach to producing stable solitons and vortex solitons in BECs. In this thesis, two-dimensional vortex quantum droplets in Bose-Einstein condensates, including those with and without external potential, are examined. The study of solitons and vortex solitons in BECs under mean-field interactions and external potential has yielded significant results. This thesis expands this field by introducing the LHY correction to study stable quantum droplets and vortex droplets in BECs. The work chapters begin with studying binary quantum droplets in free space, considering the case where interspecies interactions are weakly attractive and intraspecies interactions are weakly repulsive. The zero-vorticity, semi-vortex, and binary vortex quantum droplets are studied in Chapter 3. Stable semi-vortex quantum droplets with embedded vorticity up to 8 are found in this system. This result gives a way to form stable vortex droplets with high topological charges in free space by controlling one component with zero vorticity and the other component with embedded vorticity. The stability and properties of these droplets are systematically studied. Chapter 4 explores the vortex quantum droplets and hidden vortex droplets confined within a radial lattice trap. It is found that the existence curves of the droplets confined within this optical trap could violate the Vakhitov-Kolokolov(VK) criterion, which is a necessary condition to form a stable soliton. A remarkable finding is that the vortex and hidden vortex quantum droplets in this radial lattice remain stable when they carry the embedded vorticity up to 11. The double-ring vortex and hidden vortex quantum droplets confined within this radial lattice are also discussed. The work expands from non-magnetic atoms to magnetic atoms in Chapter 5, which needs to consider the dipole-dipole interactions(DDIs). The anisotropic dipolar vortex quantum droplets trapped in an annular potential are studied. Under the effect of the ring shape potential, the double peak ring-shaped vortex droplets remain stable when they carry the embedded vorticity up to 11. It is the first time stable droplets with high topological charges have been formed in a dipolar system. Additionally, the shape transformation of dipolar vortex droplets induced by the strength of the mean-field interaction is examined. Finally, the behavior of dipolar vortex droplets confined within a weak-depth annular potential is also discussed. The results of this thesis may prove highly useful in creating stable vortex quantum droplets in Bose-Einstein condensates and advancing the broader field of ultracold atoms.
It was recently found that the Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction to the mean-field Hamiltonian of binary atomic boson condensates suppresses the collapse and creates stable localized modes (two-component quantum droplets, QDs) in two and three dimensions (2D and 3D). In particular, the LHY effect modifies the effective Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) in 2D by adding a logarithmic factor to the usual cubic term. In the framework of the accordingly modified two-component GPE system, we construct 2D self-trapped modes in the form of QDs with vorticity
S embedded into each component. Because of the effect of the logarithmic factor, the QDs feature a flat-top shape, which expands with the increase of
S and norm
N. An essential finding, produced by a systematic numerical investigation and analytical estimates, is that the vortical QDs are stable (which is a critical issue for vortex solitons in nonlinear models) up to
S=5, for
N exceeding a certain threshold value, which is predicted to scale as ${N}_{\mathrm{th}}\ensuremath{\sim}{S}^{4}$ for large
S (for three-dimensional QDs, the scaling is ${N}_{\mathrm{th}}\ensuremath{\sim}{S}^{6}$). The prediction is corroborated by numerical findings. Pivots of QDs with $S\ensuremath{\ge}2$ are subject to structural instability, as specially selected perturbations can split the single pivot in a set of
S or
S+2 pivots corresponding to unitary vortices; however, the structural instability remains virtually invisible, as it occurs in a broad central ``hole'' of the vortex soliton, where values of fields are very small, and it does not cause any dynamical instability. In the condensate of
39K atoms, in which QDs with
S=0 and a quasi-2D shape were created recently, the vortical droplets may have radial size $\ensuremath{\lesssim}30\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$, with the number of atoms in the range of
104−−105. The role of three-body losses is considered too, demonstrating that they do not prevent the creation of the vortex droplets but may produce a noteworthy effect, leading to sudden splitting of ``light'' droplets. In addition, hidden-vorticity (HV) states in QDs, with topological charges ${S}_{+}=\ensuremath{-}{S}_{\ensuremath{-}}=1$ in their components, which are prone to strong instability in other settings, have their stability region too. Unstable HV states tend to spontaneously merge into zero-vorticity solitons. Collisions of QDs, which may lead to their merger, and dynamics of elliptically deformed QDs (which form rotating elongated patterns or ones with oscillations of the eccentricity) are briefly considered too.