Guiding-center dynamics of vortex dipoles in Bose-Einstein condensates

Journal Article · Fri Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.84.011605· OSTI ID:22038570

Middelkamp, S; Schmelcher, P ^[1]; Torres, P J ^[2]; Kevrekidis, P G ^[3]; Frantzeskakis, D J ^[4]; Carretero-Gonzalez, R ^[5]; Freilich, D V; Hall, D S ^[6]

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1. Zentrum fuer Optische Quantentechnologien, Universitaet Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, DE-22761 Hamburg (Germany)
2. Departamento de Matematica Aplicada, Universidad de Granada, ES-18071 Granada (Spain)
3. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-4515 (United States)
4. Department of Physics, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Zografos, Athens 157 84 (Greece)
5. Nonlinear Dynamical System Group, Computational Science Research Center and Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182-7720 (United States)
6. Department of Physics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002-5000 (United States)

A quantized vortex dipole is the simplest vortex molecule, comprising two countercirculating vortex lines in a superfluid. Although vortex dipoles are endemic in two-dimensional superfluids, the precise details of their dynamics have remained largely unexplored. We present here several striking observations of vortex dipoles in dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates, and develop a vortex-particle model that generates vortex line trajectories that are in good agreement with the experimental data. Interestingly, these diverse trajectories exhibit essentially identical quasiperiodic behavior, in which the vortex lines undergo stable epicyclic orbits.

• OSTI ID: 22038570
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 84, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
MOLECULES
PARTICLE MODELS
SUPERFLUIDITY
VORTICES