Vortex lattice formation in a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate

TLDR

The study investigates vortex lattice formation dynamics in a rotating trapped Bose‑Einstein condensate. Using two‑dimensional Gross‑Pitaevskii simulations, the condensate’s elliptic deformation and subsequent surface‑mode excitations are modeled until a quantized vortex lattice emerges. Phase fluctuations at the low‑density surface drive the surface‑mode excitations, and the time evolution of the distortion parameter matches Madison et al.’s experimental observations. Phys.

Abstract

We study the dynamics of vortex lattice formation of a rotating trapped Bose-Einstein condensate by numerically solving the two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and find that the condensate undergoes elliptic deformation, followed by unstable surface-mode excitations before forming a quantized vortex lattice. The origin of the peculiar surface-mode excitations is identified to be phase fluctuations at the low-density surface regime. The obtained dependence of a distortion parameter on time and that on the driving frequency agree with the recent experiments by Madison et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4443 (2001)].