2009/04/30 by E. A. L. Henn, J. A. Seman, G. Roati +4 · 16 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Degenerate energy levels #Mechanics #Perturbation (astronomy) #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum turbulence #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #Superfluidity #Turbulence #Vortex #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.quant-gas
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.103.045301
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 045301 (2009) · accepted for Phys. Rev. Lett
arxiv created 2009/06/11 · openalex publication_date 2009/07/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We report on the experimental observation of vortex tangles in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of ;87Rb atoms when an external oscillatory perturbation is introduced in the trap. The vortex tangle configuration is a signature of the presence of a turbulent regime in the cloud. We also show that this turbulent cloud suppresses the aspect ratio inversion typically observed in quantum degenerate bosonic gases during free expansion. Instead, the cloud expands keeping the ratio between their axis constant. Turbulence in atomic superfluids may constitute an alternative system to investigate decay mechanisms as well as to test fundamental theoretical aspects in this field.