Angular-momentum modes in a bosonic condensate trapped in the inverse-square potential

Abstract

In the mean-field approximation, the well-known effect of the critical quantum collapse in a 3D gas of particles pulled to the center by potential U(r) = -U_0/r^2 is suppressed by repulsive interparticle interactions, which create the otherwise non-existing s-wave ground state. Here, we address excited bound states carrying angular momentum, with the orbital and magnetic quantum numbers, l and m. They exist above a threshold value of the potential's strength, U_0 > l(l+1). The sectoral, tesseral, and zonal modes, which correspond to m = l, 0 < m < l, and m = 0, respectively, are found in an approximate analytical form for relatively small values of U_0 - l(l+1). Explicit results are produced for the p- and d-wave states, with l = 1 and 2, respectively. In the general form, the bound states are obtained numerically, confirming the accuracy of the analytical approximation.