Abstract
We investigate the thermodynamic stability of quantized vortices in a dilute Bose gas confined by a rotating harmonic trap at finite temperature. Interatomic forces play a crucial role in characterizing the resulting phase diagram, especially in the large Thomas-Fermi regime. We show that the critical temperature for the creation of stable vortices exhibits a maximum as a function of the frequency of the rotating trap, and that the corresponding transition is associated with a discontinuity in the number of atoms in the condensate. Possible strategies for approaching the vortical region are discussed.
- Received 22 December 1998
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.4371
©1999 American Physical Society