Abstract
We create supercurrents in annular two-dimensional Bose gases through a temperature quench of the normal-to-superfluid phase transition. We detect the magnitude and the direction of these supercurrents by measuring spiral patterns resulting from the interference of the cloud with a central reference disk. These measurements demonstrate the stochastic nature of the supercurrents. We further measure their distribution for different quench times and compare it with predictions based on the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.
- Received 16 June 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.135302
© 2014 American Physical Society