Stability of vortex structures in quantum dots

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stability and structure of vortices in two-dimensional quantum dots under high magnetic fields, revealing their formation, localization, and potential as a tool to understand electronic wave functions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the presence of vortex structures in various confining potentials and discusses their stability, localization, and implications for electronic states in quantum dots.

Findings

Vortices can be found in symmetric and non-symmetric potentials.

Off-electron vortices are localized and create charge deficiencies.

Vortex formation influences the energetics and internal structure of the system.

Abstract

We study the stability and structure of vortices emerging in two-dimensional quantum dots in high magnetic fields. Our results obtained with exact diagonalization and density-functional calculations show that vortex structures can be found in various confining potentials. In non-symmetric external potentials we find off-electron vortices that are localized giving rise to charge deficiency or holes in the electron density with rotating currents around them. We discuss the role of quantum fluctuations and show that vortex formation is observable in the energetics of the system. Our findings suggest that vortices can be used to characterize the solutions in high magnetic fields, giving insight into the underlying internal structure of the electronic wave function.