Stability and mixed phases of three-component droplets in one dimension

TL;DR

This paper investigates the ground state properties, phase transitions, and excitation spectra of one-dimensional three-component bosonic mixtures forming self-bound droplets, revealing diverse phases and effective models that elucidate quantum fluctuation effects.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of three-component quantum droplets in one dimension, including phase diagrams, effective models, and insights into quantum fluctuation roles, advancing understanding beyond previous two-component studies.

Findings

Multiple distinct droplet phases identified

Phase transitions driven by particle number and coupling

Effective models accurately reproduce ground states

Abstract

We explore the ground state properties and excitation spectra of one-dimensional three-component bosonic mixtures accommodating a droplet in two of the species and a third minority component. Relying on the suitable Lee-Huang-Yang framework, we reveal a plethora of distinct self-bound droplet phases and their phase transitions through variations of either the particle number of the majority components or the intercomponent coupling. The ensuing phases demonstrate that the minority component is being un-trapped, partially trapped, or fully trapped by the majority droplet species. These states are characterized by their binding energies captured by the chemical potentials and their low-amplitude excitation spectrum, including mode crossings at the particle-emission threshold. We further derive effective reduced models which are valid in the high-imbalance limit, and accurately reproduce the numerically computed ground states, while providing analytical insights into the role of quantum fluctuations. Our results map out the stability and structure of mixed droplet phases offering guidance into forthcoming experimental and theoretical studies of multicomponent quantum droplets.