Breakdown of the superfluidity of a matter wave in a random environment

TL;DR

This paper investigates how disorder affects superfluidity in a guided Bose-Einstein condensate, identifying the critical velocity for superfluid breakdown and linking it to the statistical extremes of the random potential.

Contribution

It introduces a method to determine the critical velocity in disordered environments and analyzes its statistical properties, connecting superfluid breakdown to extreme potential values.

Findings

Critical velocity depends on disorder characteristics

Superfluid breakdown linked to extreme potential fluctuations

Experimental setups for observing these effects are proposed

Abstract

We consider a guided Bose-Einstein matter wave flowing through a disordered potential. We determine the critical velocity at which superfluidity is broken and compute its statistical properties. They are shown to be connected to extreme values of the random potential. Experimental implementations of this physics are discussed.