Generic equilibration dynamics of planar defects in trapped atomic superfluids

Peter Scherpelz, Karmela Padavić, Andy Murray, Andreas Glatz, Igor S. Aranson, and K. Levin
Phys. Rev. A 91, 033621 – Published 18 March 2015
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Abstract

We investigate equilibration processes shortly after sudden perturbations are applied to ultracold trapped superfluids. We show the similarity of phase imprinting and localized density depletion perturbations, both of which initially are found to produce “phase walls.” These planar defects are associated with a sharp gradient in the phase. Importantly they relax following a quite general sequence. Our studies, based on simulations of the complex time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation, address the challenge posed by these experiments: how a superfluid eventually eliminates a spatially extended planar defect. The processes involved are necessarily more complex than equilibration involving simpler line vortices. An essential mechanism for relaxation involves repeated formation and loss of vortex rings near the trap edge.

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  • Received 30 September 2014
  • Revised 27 December 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.033621

©2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Peter Scherpelz1,*, Karmela Padavić1, Andy Murray1, Andreas Glatz2,3, Igor S. Aranson2, and K. Levin1

  • 1James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
  • 2Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois 60115, USA

  • *pscherpelz@uchicago.edu

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Vol. 91, Iss. 3 — March 2015

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