Rotating trapped Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This paper reviews the behavior of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates, focusing on vortex formation, dense vortex arrays, and the transition to highly correlated quantum states near trap frequency.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of vortex dynamics, the applicability of the lowest-Landau-level approximation, and the predicted quantum phase transition in rapidly rotating BECs.

Findings

Vortices nucleate and form triangular arrays at high rotation speeds.

The lowest-Landau-level approximation describes rapidly rotating condensates.

A quantum phase transition to correlated states is expected near the trap frequency.

Abstract

After reviewing the ideal Bose-Einstein gas in a box and in a harmonic trap, I discuss the effect of interactions on the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), along with the dynamics of small-amplitude perturbations (the Bogoliubov equations). When the condensate rotates with angular velocity Omega, one or several vortices nucleate, with many observable consequences. With more rapid rotation, the vortices form a dense triangular array, and the collective behavior of these vortices has additional experimental implications. For Omega near the radial trap frequency omega_perp, the lowest-Landau-level approximation becomes applicable, providing a simple picture of such rapidly rotating condensates. Eventually, as Omega approaches omega_perp, the rotating dilute gas is expected to undergo a quantum phase transition from a superfluid to various highly correlated (nonsuperfluid) states analogous to those familiar from the fractional quantum Hall effect for electrons in a strong perpendicular magnetic field.