Three-dimensional numerical simulation of long-lived quantum vortex knots and links in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate

TL;DR

This paper presents 3D numerical simulations of long-lived vortex knots and links in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, demonstrating their stability and longevity in various conditions, aligning with previous theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed 3D simulation of vortex knots and links in BECs, confirming their long lifetimes and stability in anisotropic traps.

Findings

Vortex knots and links have long lifetimes in BECs.

Simulation results agree qualitatively with previous 1D filament models.

Vortex structures remain quasi-stationary over extended periods.

Abstract

Dynamics of simplest vortex knots, unknots, and links of torus type inside an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in anisotropic harmonic trap at zero temperature has been numerically simulated using three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The lifetime for such quasi-stationary rotating vortex structures has been found quite long in wide parametric domains of the system. This result is in qualitative agreement with a previous prediction based on a simplified one-dimensional model approximately describing dynamics of vortex filaments [V.P. Ruban, JETP 126, 397 (2018)].