This study shows how quantum fluctuations can stabilize droplets in the Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of strong magnetic dipolar interactions using path-integral Monte Carlo method, explaining past experimental observations.
We simulate a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate in the strongly dipolar regime, observing the existence of self-bound droplets, as well as their splitting into multiple droplets by confinement-induced frustration. Our quantum Monte Carlo approach goes beyond the limits of the established effective mean-field theories for dipolar quantum gases, revealing small droplets produced by strong dipolar interactions outside known stable regimes. The simulations include realistic molecular interactions and therefore have direct relevance for current and future experiments.
Gases of doubly dipolar particles, with both magnetic and electric dipole moments, offer intriguing novel possibilities. We show that the interplay between doubly dipolar interactions, quantum stabilization, and external confinement results in a rich ground-state physics of supersolids and incoherent droplet arrays in doubly dipolar condensates. Our study reveals novel possibilities for engineering quantum droplets and droplet supersolids, including supersolid-supersolid transitions and the realization of supersolid arrays of pancake droplets.
Quantum fluctuations can stabilize Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) against the mean-field collapse. Stabilization of the condensate has been observed in quantum degenerate Bose-Bose mixtures and dipolar BECs. The fine-tuning of the interatomic interactions can lead to the emergence of two new states of matter: liquid-like self-bound quantum droplets and supersolid crystals formed from these droplets. We review the properties of these exotic states of matter and summarize the experimental progress made using dipolar quantum gases and Bose-Bose mixtures. We conclude with an outline of important open questions that could be addressed in the future.
We theoretically consider the properties of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate with a vortex. Our theory includes the influence of the leading order quantum fluctuation corrections which allows the condensate to stabilize into a droplet state in the regime of dominant dipole interactions. We develop numerical techniques to accurately and efficiently calculate the stationary vortex states and the quasi-particle excitations. These methods are carefully benchmarked where possible. We make a brief study of self-bound vortex droplets, considering their basic properties, and presenting a phase diagram for where they exist. We also compare our calculations to results which appeared from another group during our research. We show that their results suffer from serious numerical issues and are unreliable. We focus on studying the properties of a vortex line in an elongated dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate confined by a prolate trap. Increasing the strength of the dipole-dipole interactions relative to the short ranged contact interactions we find that the system crosses over to a self-bound vortex droplet stabilized from collapse by quantum fluctuations. We calculate the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the vortex state, which is important in characterizing the vortex response, and assessing its stability. When the DDIs are sufficiently strong we find that the vortex is dynamically unstable to quadrupolar modes.
Strongly dipolar Bose gases can form liquid droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations. In a theoretical description of this phenomenon, the low-energy scattering amplitude is utilized as an effective potential. We show that for magnetic atoms, corrections with respect to the Born approximation arise, and we derive a modified pseudopotential using a realistic interaction model. We discuss the resulting changes in collective mode frequencies and droplet stability diagrams. Our results are relevant to recent experiments with erbium and dysprosium atoms.