Quasistable quantum vortex knots and links in anisotropic harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensates

Journal Article · 10 June 2019 · Physical Review A

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.99.063604 · OSTI ID:1542851

Ticknor, Christopher ^[1]; Ruban, Victor P. ^[2]; Kevrekidis, P. G. ^[3]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Chernogolovka (Russian Federation). Landau Inst. for Theoretical Physics
3. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States). Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics

The long-time existence of topologically nontrivial configurations of quantum vortices in the form of torus knots and links in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates is demonstrated numerically within the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation with an external anisotropic parabolic potential. We identify here parametric domains of trap anisotropy, characterized by the axial over planar frequency ratio $${\lambda}{\approx}1.5-1.6$$, where the lifetime of such quasistationary rotating vortex structures is many hundreds of typical rotation times. This suggests the potential experimental observability of the structures. We quantify the relevant lifetimes as a function of the model parameters (e.g., $${\lambda}$$) and initial condition parameters of the knot profile.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States); Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Chernogolovka (Russian Federation)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)
• Grant/Contract Number: 89233218CNA000001
• OSTI ID: 1542851
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--19-21943
• Journal Information: Physical Review A, Journal Name: Physical Review A Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 99; ISSN 2469-9926
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English