Direct energy dissipation measurements for a driven superfluid via the harmonic-potential theorem

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method to directly measure energy dissipation for a linearly driven superfluid confined in a harmonic trap. The method relies on a perturbed version of the harmonic-potential theorem, according to which a potential perturbation - effectively acting as a stirrer - converts center-of-mass motional energy into internal energy. Energy conservation then enables a direct, quantitative determination of the dissipated energy from measurements of the macroscopic center-of-mass observables. Applying this method to a perturbed, driven Bose-Einstein condensate, we observe dissipation curves characteristic of superfluid flow, including a critical velocity that depends on the stirrer strength, consistent with previous studies. Our results are supported by mean-field simulations, which corroborate both the theoretical framework and the experimental findings.