2001/06/05 by Mark Edwards, Charles W. Clark, P. Pedri +3 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.88.070405
4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRL
arxiv created 2001/06/05 · openalex publication_date 2002/01/31 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We propose an easily detectable signature of superfluidity in rotating, vortex-free gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates. We have studied the time evolution of the expansion of such a condensate after it is released from the confining trap. We find that if such a condensate is not initially rotating, then at some moment it will instantaneously achieve a circular cross section. If the condensate is initially rotating its irrotational flow and the conservation of angular momentum prevent the released condensate from attaining a circular cross section, since the instantaneous moment of inertia is then proportional to the asymmetry of this cross section.