Quantum Bubbles in Microgravity

Year: 2020

Authors: Tononi A, Cinti F., Salasnich L.

Autors Affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Galileo Galilei,” Università di Padova, via Marzolo 8, Padova 35131, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; INFN, Sezione di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Department of Physics, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa; Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO) del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Abstract: The recent developments of microgravity experiments with ultracold atoms have produced a relevant boost in the study of shell-shaped ellipsoidal Bose-Einstein condensates. For realistic bubble-trap parameters, here we calculate the critical temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation, which, if compared to the one of the bare harmonic trap with the same frequencies, shows a strong reduction. We simulate the zero-temperature density distribution with the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and we study the free expansion of the hollow condensate. While part of the atoms expands in the outward direction, the condensate self-interferes inside the bubble trap, filling the hole in experimentally observable times. For a mesoscopic number of particles in a strongly interacting regime, for which more refined approaches are needed, we employ quantum Monte Carlo simulations, proving that the nontrivial topology of a thin shell allows superfluidity. Our work constitutes a reliable benchmark for the forthcoming scientific investigations with bubble traps.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 125 (1)      Pages from: 010402-1  to: 010402-6

KeyWords: Bose-Einstein condensation; ultracold atoms; bubble traps
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.010402

Citations: 33
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