2022/10/26 by Jonas Rønning, Luiza Angheluta, Rønning, Jonas +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) #Strong Light-Matter Interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2210.14620
openalex publication_date 2022/10/26 · openalex created_date 2022/11/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We apply the Halperin-Mazenco formalism within the Gross-Pitaevskii theory to characterise the kinematics and nucleation of quantum vortices in a two-dimensional stirred Bose Einstein condensate. We introduce a smooth defect density field measuring the superfluid vorticity and is a topologically conserved quantity. We use this defect density field and its associated current density to study the precursory pattern formations that occur inside the repulsive potential of an obstacle and determine the onset of vortex nucleation and shedding. We demonstrate that phase slips form inside hard potentials even in the absence of vortex nucleation, whereas for soft potentials they occur only above a critical stirring velocity leading to vortex nucleation. The Halperin-Mazenco formalism provides an elegant and accurate method of deriving the point vortex dynamic directly from the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.