Emil Lundh

Multiply quantized vortices in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates

Vortex configurations in rotating Bose-Einstein condensed gases trapped in power-law and anharmonic potentials are studied. When the confining potential is steeper than harmonic in the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation, vortices with quantum numbers larger than one are energetically favorable if the interaction is weak enough. Features of the wave function for small and intermediate rotation frequencies are investigated numerically.

Vortices in Bose-Einstein-condensed atomic clouds

The properties of vortex states in a Bose-Einstein condensed cloud of atoms are considered at zero temperature. Using both analytical and numerical methods we solve the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the case when a cloud of atoms containing a vortex is released from a trap. In two dimensions we find the simple result that the time dependence of the cloud radius is given by

Ratchet effect for cold atoms in an optical lattice.

(1+\omega^2t^2)^{1/2}

Vortex nucleation in Bose-Einstein condensates in time-dependent traps

, where

Phase diagram of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate with anharmonic confinement

\omega

Interface dynamics of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate driven by an external force

is the trap frequency. We calculate and compare the expansion of the vortex core and the cloud radius for different numbers of particles and interaction strengths, in both two and three dimensions, and discuss the circumstances under which vortex states may be observed experimentally.

Magnetic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate

The possibility of realizing a directed current for a quantum particle in a flashing asymmetric potential is investigated. It is found that quantum resonances, where the value of the effective Planck constant is equal to an integer or half-integer multiple of pi, give rise to a directed current. The effect should be readily observable in experiments.

Turbulence in binary Bose-Einstein condensates generated by highly nonlinear Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities

Vortex nucleation in a Bose-Einstein condensate subject to a stirring potential is studied numerically using the zero-temperature, two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In the case of a rotating, slightly anisotropic harmonic potential, the numerical results reproduce experimental findings, thereby showing that finite temperatures are not necessary for vortex excitation below the quadrupole frequency. In the case of a condensate subject to stirring by a narrow rotating potential, the process of vortex excitation is described by a classical model that treats the multitude of vortices created by the stirrer as a continuously distributed vorticity at the center of the cloud, but retains a potential flow pattern at large distances from the center.

Stability of the solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

We examine the phase diagram of an effectively repulsive Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms that rotates in a quadratic-plus-quartic potential. With use of a variational method we identify the three possible phases of the system as a function of the rotational frequency of the trap and of the coupling constant. The derived phase diagram is shown to be universal and partly exact in the limit of weak interactions and small anharmonicity. The variational results are found to be consistent with numerical solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

Core sizes and dynamical instabilities of giant vortices in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates

The dynamics of an interface in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate driven by a spatially uniform time-dependent force is studied. Starting from the Gross-Pitaevskii Lagrangian, the dispersion relation for linear waves and instabilities at the interface is derived by means of a variational approach. A number of diverse dynamical effects for different types of driving force is demonstrated, which includes the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for a constant force, the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability for a pulse force, dynamic stabilization of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and onset of the parametric instability for an oscillating force. Gaussian Markovian and non-Markovian stochastic forces are also considered. It is found that the Markovian stochastic force does not produce any average effect on the dynamics of the interface, while the non-Markovian force leads to exponential perturbation growth.