Vortex reconnections in anisotropic trapped three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This study investigates quantum vortex reconnections in anisotropic 3D Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing that trap anisotropy influences reconnection timing and the system remains largely condensed despite interactions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how trap anisotropy and interaction strength affect vortex reconnection dynamics in Bose-Einstein condensates using an exact many-body approach.

Findings

Interaction strength does not affect reconnection time over short periods

Trap anisotropy can interfere with vortex reconnection processes

The condensate remains largely coherent during reconnections

Abstract

Quantum vortex reconnections can be considered as a fundamental unit of interaction in complex turbulent quantum gases. Understanding the dynamics of single vortex reconnections as elementary events is an essential precursor to the explanation of the emergent properties of turbulent quantum gases. It is thought that a lone pair of quantum vortex lines will inevitably interact given a sufficiently long time. This paper investigates aspects of reconnections of quantum vortex pairs imprinted in a Bose-Einstein condensate held in an anisotropic three dimensional trap using an exact many-body treatment. In particular the impact of the interaction strength and the trap anisotropy in the reconnection time is studied. It is found that interaction strength has no effect on reconnection time over short time scales and that the trap anisotropy can cause the edge of the condensate to interfere with the reconnection process. It is also found that the initially coherent system fragments very slowly, even for relatively large interaction strength, and therefore the system likes to stay condensed during the reconnections.