Thomas-Fermi approximation to static vortex states in superfluid trapped atomic gases

TL;DR

This paper revises the Thomas-Fermi approximation for vortex states in Bose condensates, using an hbar -> 0 limit, and demonstrates good agreement with Gross-Pitaevskii calculations even for small atom numbers.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach to the Thomas-Fermi approximation based on the hbar -> 0 limit, extending its application to vortex states in superfluid fermionic systems.

Findings

Good agreement between Gross-Pitaevskii and Thomas-Fermi calculations for small atom numbers.

Effective description of vortex states in Bose condensates.

Potential application to superfluid fermionic systems in Ginzburg-Landau regime.

Abstract

We revise the Thomas-Fermi approximation for describing vortex states in Bose condensates of magnetically trapped atoms. Our approach is based on considering the hbar -> 0 limit rather than the N -> infinity limit as Thomas-Fermi approximation in close analogy with the Fermi systems. Even for relatively small numbers of trapped particles we find good agreement between Gross-Pitaevskii and Thomas-Fermi calculations for the different contributions to the total energy of the atoms in the condensate. We also discuss the application of our approach to the description of vortex states in superfluid fermionic systems in the Ginzburg-Landau regime.