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

arXiv:cond-mat/0307247 · Physical Review A

Motion of a heavy impurity through a Bose-Einstein condensate

G. E. Astrakharchik, Лев П. Питаевский

Published Jul 20, 2004• 300 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the motion of a pointlike impurity in a Bose-Einstein condensate at $T=0$. By solving the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation in a perturbative manner we calculate the induced mass of the impurity and the drag force on the impurity in three-, two-, and one-dimensional (1D) cases. The relationship between the induced mass and the normal mass of fluid is found, and coincides with the result of the Bogoliubov theory. The drag force appears for the supersonic motion of the impurity. In 1D the drag force is investigated also on the basis of the exact Lieb-Liniger theory, using the dynamic form factor, which has been evaluated by the Haldane method of the calculation of correlation functions. In this theory the force appears for an arbitrarily small velocity of the impurity. The possibility of measuring the form factor in existing experiments is noted.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.70.013608

Related papers

Classical analogies for the force acting on an impurity in a Bose–Einstein condensate

Jonas Rønning, Audun Skaugen, Emilio Hernández-García +2 more

Abstract We study the hydrodynamic forces acting on a small impurity moving in a two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate at non-zero temperature. The condensate is modelled by the damped-Gross Pitaevskii (dGPE) equation and the impurity by a Gaussian repulsive potential coupled to the condensate. For weak coupling, we obtain analytical expressions for the forces acting on the impurity, and compare them with those computed through direct numerical simulations of the dGPE and with the corresponding expressions for classical forces. For non-steady flows, there is a time-dependent force dominated by inertial effects and which has a correspondence in the Maxey–Riley theory for particles in classical fluids. In the steady-state regime, the force is dominated by a self-induced drag. Unlike at zero temperature, where the drag force vanishes below a critical velocity, at low temperatures the impurity experiences a net drag even at small velocities, as a consequence of the energy dissipation through interactions of the condensate with the thermal cloud. This dissipative force due to thermal drag is similar to the classical Stokes’ drag. There is still a critical velocity above which steady-state drag is dominated by acoustic excitations and behaves non-monotonically with impurity’s speed.

arXiv:2002.05003•New Journal of Physics•May 22, 2020•12 citations

Drag Force on an Impurity below the Superfluid Critical Velocity in a Quasi-One-Dimensional Bose-Einstein Condensate

Andrew G. Sykes, Matthew J. Davis, David C K Roberts

The existence of frictionless flow below a critical velocity for obstacles moving in a superfluid is well established in the context of the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii theory. We calculate the next order correction due to quantum and thermal fluctuations and find a nonzero force acting on a delta-function impurity moving through a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at all subcritical velocities and at all temperatures. The force occurs due to an imbalance in the Doppler shifts of reflected quantum fluctuations from either side of the impurity. Our calculation is based on a consistent extension of Bogoliubov theory to second order in the interaction strength, and finds new analytical solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a gray soliton. Our results raise questions regarding the quantum dynamics in the formation of persistent currents in superfluids.

arXiv:0904.0995•Physical Review Letters•Aug 18, 2009•51 citations

Dynamics of a 2D Bose-Einstein Condensate With an Impurity

Jonas Rønning

In this project we have studied the hydrodynamic forces that are acting on a small impurity submerged into a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at finite temperature. The condensate is modeled by the damped Gross-Pitaevskii equation which we have coupled to a repulsive Gaussian potential to model the interaction with the impurity. We have considered a weakly coupled impurity in an untrapped condensate. The perturbations away from the condensates ground-state, both the ones caused by the particle and those that are not, are assumed to be small. We therefore use linear perturbation analysis to find expressions for the hydrodynamic forces and compare these expressions to the classical Maxey-Riley equation. We find that the force caused by the perturbations that were in the fluid in the absence of the particle are proportional to the local condensate acceleration. This is analogous to the inertial term in the Maxey-Riley equation. The force due to the perturbations that were caused by the impurity takes, for slowly moving impurities in the steady-state, the form of the Stokes’ drag. The obtained expressions are then compared to numerical simulations.

•Jan 1, 2020•1 citation

Noncollinear drag force in Bose-Einstein condensates with Weyl spin-orbit coupling

Renyuan Liao, Oleksandr Fialko, Joachim Brand +1 more

We consider the motion of a pointlike impurity through a three-dimensional two-component Bose-Einstein condensate subject to Weyl spin-orbit coupling. Using linear-response theory, we calculate the drag force felt by the impurity and the associated anisotropic critical velocity from the spectrum of elementary excitations. The drag force is shown to be generally not collinear with the velocity of the impurity. This unusual behavior is a consequence of condensation into a finite-momentum state due to the spin-orbit coupling.

arXiv:1511.00886•Physical Review A•Feb 17, 2016•8 citations

Force on a slow moving impurity due to thermal and quantum fluctuations in a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate

David A. Roberts, Andrew G. Sykes

We study the drag force acting on an impurity moving through a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations. We are able to find exact analytical solutions of the partial differential equations to the level of the Bogoliubov approximation. At zero temperature, we find a nonzero force is exerted on the impurity at subcritical velocities, due to the scattering of quantum fluctuations. We make the following explicit assumptions: far from the impurity the system is in a quantum state given by that of a zero (or finite) temperature Bose-Einstein condensate, and the scattering process generates only causally related reflection/transmission. The results raise unanswered questions in the quantum dynamics associated with the formation of persistent currents.

Physical Review Letters•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

Mediated interactions between two impurities immersed in a Bose–Einstein condensate

Dong-Chen Zheng, Chun-Rong 春荣 Ye 叶, Ye Lin +2 more

Abstract We consider two pointlike static impurities without direct interaction immersed in a three-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) at zero temperature. By solving the Gross–Pitaevskii (GP) equation in a perturbative manner, we calculate the ground state energy in the region where the atom–impurity interaction is assumed to be weak. We obtain an analytical expression for the spatial distribution of atom number density and the effective force between these two impurities. The effective force is found to be closely related to the strength of the atom–impurity interaction and the relative distance between these two impurities. Two critical relative distances are found between the two impurities. The first one corresponds to the vanishing of the perturbed energy with impurities, although the effective force between the two impurities still exists. At the second critical value, the energy of the impurities changes linearly with the atom–impurity interaction; otherwise, it changes quadratically with the atom–impurity interaction.

Chinese Physics B•Jul 2, 2025•0 citations
We study the motion of a pointlike impurity in a Bose-Einstein condensate at T=0T=0T=0. By solving the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation in a perturbative manner we calculate the induced mass of the impurity and the drag force on the impurity in three-, two-, and one-dimensional (1D) cases. The relationship between the induced mass and the normal mass of fluid is found, and coincides with the result of the Bogoliubov theory. The drag force appears for the supersonic motion of the impurity. In 1D the drag force is investigated also on the basis of the exact Lieb-Liniger theory, using the dynamic form factor, which has been evaluated by the Haldane method of the calculation of correlation functions. In this theory the force appears for an arbitrarily small velocity of the impurity. The possibility of measuring the form factor in existing experiments is noted.
Abstract We study the hydrodynamic forces acting on a small impurity moving in a two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate at non-zero temperature. The condensate is modelled by the damped-Gross Pitaevskii (dGPE) equation and the impurity by a Gaussian repulsive potential coupled to the condensate. For weak coupling, we obtain analytical expressions for the forces acting on the impurity, and compare them with those computed through direct numerical simulations of the dGPE and with the corresponding expressions for classical forces. For non-steady flows, there is a time-dependent force dominated by inertial effects and which has a correspondence in the Maxey–Riley theory for particles in classical fluids. In the steady-state regime, the force is dominated by a self-induced drag. Unlike at zero temperature, where the drag force vanishes below a critical velocity, at low temperatures the impurity experiences a net drag even at small velocities, as a consequence of the energy dissipation through interactions of the condensate with the thermal cloud. This dissipative force due to thermal drag is similar to the classical Stokes’ drag. There is still a critical velocity above which steady-state drag is dominated by acoustic excitations and behaves non-monotonically with impurity’s speed.
The existence of frictionless flow below a critical velocity for obstacles moving in a superfluid is well established in the context of the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii theory. We calculate the next order correction due to quantum and thermal fluctuations and find a nonzero force acting on a delta-function impurity moving through a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at all subcritical velocities and at all temperatures. The force occurs due to an imbalance in the Doppler shifts of reflected quantum fluctuations from either side of the impurity. Our calculation is based on a consistent extension of Bogoliubov theory to second order in the interaction strength, and finds new analytical solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a gray soliton. Our results raise questions regarding the quantum dynamics in the formation of persistent currents in superfluids.
In this project we have studied the hydrodynamic forces that are acting on a small impurity submerged into a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at finite temperature. The condensate is modeled by the damped Gross-Pitaevskii equation which we have coupled to a repulsive Gaussian potential to model the interaction with the impurity. We have considered a weakly coupled impurity in an untrapped condensate. The perturbations away from the condensates ground-state, both the ones caused by the particle and those that are not, are assumed to be small. We therefore use linear perturbation analysis to find expressions for the hydrodynamic forces and compare these expressions to the classical Maxey-Riley equation. We find that the force caused by the perturbations that were in the fluid in the absence of the particle are proportional to the local condensate acceleration. This is analogous to the inertial term in the Maxey-Riley equation. The force due to the perturbations that were caused by the impurity takes, for slowly moving impurities in the steady-state, the form of the Stokes’ drag. The obtained expressions are then compared to numerical simulations.
We consider the motion of a pointlike impurity through a three-dimensional two-component Bose-Einstein condensate subject to Weyl spin-orbit coupling. Using linear-response theory, we calculate the drag force felt by the impurity and the associated anisotropic critical velocity from the spectrum of elementary excitations. The drag force is shown to be generally not collinear with the velocity of the impurity. This unusual behavior is a consequence of condensation into a finite-momentum state due to the spin-orbit coupling.
We study the drag force acting on an impurity moving through a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations. We are able to find exact analytical solutions of the partial differential equations to the level of the Bogoliubov approximation. At zero temperature, we find a nonzero force is exerted on the impurity at subcritical velocities, due to the scattering of quantum fluctuations. We make the following explicit assumptions: far from the impurity the system is in a quantum state given by that of a zero (or finite) temperature Bose-Einstein condensate, and the scattering process generates only causally related reflection/transmission. The results raise unanswered questions in the quantum dynamics associated with the formation of persistent currents.
Abstract We consider two pointlike static impurities without direct interaction immersed in a three-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) at zero temperature. By solving the Gross–Pitaevskii (GP) equation in a perturbative manner, we calculate the ground state energy in the region where the atom–impurity interaction is assumed to be weak. We obtain an analytical expression for the spatial distribution of atom number density and the effective force between these two impurities. The effective force is found to be closely related to the strength of the atom–impurity interaction and the relative distance between these two impurities. Two critical relative distances are found between the two impurities. The first one corresponds to the vanishing of the perturbed energy with impurities, although the effective force between the two impurities still exists. At the second critical value, the energy of the impurities changes linearly with the atom–impurity interaction; otherwise, it changes quadratically with the atom–impurity interaction.