arXiv subjects

P. Schmelcher

Publications and source records attributed to P. Schmelcher.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Statistical mechanics of one-dimensional quantum droplets

We study the statistical mechanics and the dynamical relaxation process of modulationally unstable one-dimensional quantum droplets described by a modified Gross-Pitaevskii equation. To determine the classical partition function thereof, we leverage the semi-analytical transfer integral operator (TIO) technique. The latter predicts a distribution of the observed wave function amplitudes and yields two-point correlation functions providing insights into the emergent dynamics involving quantum droplets. We compare the ensuing TIO results with the probability distributions obtained at large times of the modulationally unstable dynamics as well as with the equilibrium properties of a suitably constructed Langevin dynamics. We find that the instability leads to the spontaneous formation of quantum droplets featuring multiple collisions and by which are found to coalesce at large evolution times. Our results from the distinct methodologies are in good agreement aside from the case of low temperatures in the special limit where the droplet widens. In this limit, the distribution acquires a pronounced bimodal character, exhibiting a deviation between the TIO solution and the Langevin dynamics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Few-body correlations in two-dimensional Bose and Fermi ultracold mixtures

Few-body correlations emerging in two-dimensional harmonically trapped mixtures, are comprehensively investigated. The presence of the trap leads to the formation of atom-dimer and trap states, in addition to trimers. The Tan's contacts of these eigenstates are studied for varying interspecies scattering lengths and mass ratio, while corresponding analytical insights are provided within the adiabatic hyperspherical formalism. The two- and three-body correlations of trimer states are substantially enhanced compared to the other eigenstates. The two-body contact of the atom-dimer and trap states features an upper bound regardless of the statistics, treated semi-classically and having an analytical prediction in the limit of large scattering lengths. Such an upper bound is absent in the three-body contact. Interestingly, by tuning the interspecies scattering length the contacts oscillate as the atom-dimer and trap states change character through the existent avoided-crossings in the energy spectra. For thermal gases, a gradual suppression of the involved two- and three-body correlations is evinced manifesting the impact of thermal effects. Moreover, spatial configurations of the distinct eigenstates ranging from localized structures to angular anisotropic patterns are captured. Our results provide valuable insights into the inherent correlation mechanisms of few-body mixtures which can be implemented in recent ultracold atom experiments and will be especially useful for probing the crossover from few- to many-atom systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Spontaneous Formation of Star-Shaped Surface Patterns in a Driven Bose-Einstein Condensate

We observe experimentally the spontaneous formation of star-shaped surface patterns in driven Bose-Einstein condensates. Two-dimensional star-shaped patterns with $l$-fold symmetry, ranging from quadrupole ($l=2$) to heptagon modes ($l=7$), are parametrically excited by modulating the scattering length near the Feshbach resonance. An effective Mathieu equation and Floquet analysis are utilized, relating the instability conditions to the dispersion of the surface modes in a trapped superfluid. Identifying the resonant frequencies of the patterns, we precisely measure the dispersion relation of the collective excitations. The oscillation amplitude of the surface excitations increases exponentially during the modulation. We find that only the $l=6$ mode is unstable due to its emergent coupling with the dipole motion of the cloud. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with the mean-field framework. Our work opens a new pathway for generating higher-lying collective excitations with applications, such as the probing of exotic properties of quantum fluids and providing a generation mechanism of quantum turbulence.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Flat bands by latent symmetry

Flat energy bands of model lattice Hamiltonians provide a key ingredient in designing dispersionless wave excitations and have become a versatile platform to study various aspects of interacting many-body systems. Their essential merit lies in hosting compactly localized eigenstates which originate from destructive interference induced by the lattice geometry, in turn often based on symmetry principles. We here show that flat bands can be generated from a hidden symmetry of the lattice unit cell, revealed as a permutation symmetry upon reduction of the cell over two sites governed by an effective dimer Hamiltonian. This so-called latent symmetry is intimately connected to a symmetry between possible walks of a particle along the cell sites, starting and ending on each of the effective dimer sites. The summed amplitudes of any eigenstate with odd parity on the effective dimer sites vanish on special site subsets called walk multiplets. We exploit this to construct flat bands by using a latently symmetric unit cell coupled into a lattice via walk multiplet interconnections. We demonstrate that the resulting flat bands are tunable by different parametrizations of the lattice Hamiltonian matrix elements which preserve the latent symmetry. The developed framework may offer fruitful perspectives to analyze and design flat band structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Radiofrequency spectroscopy of one-dimensional trapped Bose polarons: crossover from the adiabatic to the diabatic regime

We investigate the crossover of the impurity-induced dynamics, in trapped one-dimensional Bose polarons subject to radio frequency (rf) pulses of varying intensity, from an adiabatic to a diabatic regime. Utilizing adiabatic pulses for either weak repulsive or attractive impurity-medium interactions, a multitude of polaronic excitations or mode-couplings of the impurity-bath interaction with the collective breathing motion of the bosonic medium are spectrally resolved. We find that for strongly repulsive impurity-bath interactions, a temporal orthogonality catastrophe manifests in resonances in the excitation spectra where impurity coherence vanishes. When two impurities are introduced, impurity-impurity correlations, for either attractive or strong repulsive couplings, induce a spectral shift of the resonances with respect to the single impurity. For a heavy impurity, the polaronic peak is accompanied by a series of equidistant side-band resonances, related to interference of the impurity spin dynamics and the sound waves of the bath. In all cases, we enter the diabatic transfer regime for an increasing bare Rabi frequency of the rf field with a Lorentzian spectral shape featuring a single polaronic resonance. The findings in this work on the effects of external trap, rf pulse and impurity-impurity interaction should have implications for the new generations of cold-atom experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Phase Diagram, Stability and Magnetic Properties of Nonlinear Excitations in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

We present the phase diagram, the underlying stability and magnetic properties as well as the dynamics of nonlinear solitary wave excitations arising in the distinct phases of a harmonically confined spinor $F=1$ Bose-Einstein condensate. Particularly, it is found that nonlinear excitations in the form of dark-dark-bright solitons exist in the antiferromagnetic and in the easy-axis phase of a spinor gas, being generally unstable in the former while possessing stability intervals in the latter phase. Dark-bright-bright solitons can be realized in the polar and the easy-plane phases as unstable and stable configurations respectively; the latter phase can also feature stable dark-dark-dark solitons. Importantly, the persistence of these types of states upon transitioning, by means of tuning the quadratic Zeeman coefficient from one phase to the other is unravelled. Additionally, the spin-mixing dynamics of stable and unstable matter waves is analyzed, revealing among others the coherent evolution of magnetic dark-bright, nematic dark-bright-bright and dark-dark-dark solitons. Moreover, for the unstable cases unmagnetized or magnetic droplet-like configurations and spin-waves consisting of regular and magnetic solitons are seen to dynamically emerge remaining thereafter robust while propagating for extremely large evolution times. Interestingly, exposing spinorial solitons to finite temperatures, their anti-damping in trap oscillation is showcased. It is found that the latter is suppressed for stronger bright soliton component "fillings". Our investigations pave the wave for a systematic production and analysis involving spin transfer processes of such waveforms which have been recently realized in ultracold experiments.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

Pattern formation of correlated impurities subjected to an impurity-medium interaction pulse

We study the correlated dynamics of few interacting bosonic impurities immersed in a one-dimensional harmonically trapped bosonic environment. The mixture is exposed to a time-dependent impurity-medium interaction pulse moving it across the relevant phase separation boundary. For modulation frequencies smaller than the trapping one, the system successively transits through the miscible/immiscible phases according to the driving of the impurity-medium interactions. For strong modulations, and driving from the miscible to the immiscible regime, a significant fraction of the impurities is expelled to the edges of the bath. They exhibit a strong localization behavior and tend to equilibrate. Following the reverse driving protocol, the impurities perform a breathing motion while featuring a two-body clustering and the bath is split into two incoherent parts. Interestingly, in both driving scenarios, dark-bright solitons are nucleated in the absence of correlations. A localization of the impurities around the trap center for weak impurity-impurity repulsions is revealed, which subsequently disperse into the bath for increasing interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

On-demand generation of dark soliton trains in Bose-Einstein condensates

Matter-wave interference mechanisms in one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates that allow for the controlled generation of dark soliton trains upon choosing suitable box-type initial configurations are described. First, the direct scattering problem for the defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonzero boundary conditions and general box-type initial configurations is discussed, and expressions for the discrete spectrum corresponding to the dark soliton excitations generated by the dynamics are obtained. It is found that the size of the initial box directly affects the number, size and velocity of the solitons, while the initial phase determines the parity of the solutions. The analytical results are compared to those of numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, both in the absence and in the presence of a harmonic trap. The numerical results bear out the analytical results with excellent agreement.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Transfer efficiency enhancement and eigenstate properties in locally symmetric disordered finite chains

The impact of local reflection symmetry on wave localization and transport within finite disordered chains is investigated. Local symmetries thereby play the role of a spatial correlation of variable range in the finite system. We find that, on ensemble average, the chain eigenstates become more fragmented spatially for intermediate average symmetry domain sizes, depending on the degree of disorder. This is caused by the partial formation of states with approximate local parity confined within fictitious, disorder-induced double wells and perturbed by the coupling to adjacent domains. The dynamical evolution of wave-packets shows that the average site-resolved transfer efficiency is enhanced between regions connected by local symmetry. The transfer may further be drastically amplified in the presence of spatial overlap between the symmetry domains, and in particular when global and local symmetry coexist. Applicable to generic discrete models for matter and light waves, our work provides a perspective to understand and exploit the impact of local order at multiple scales in complex systems.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2020

Pump Probe Spectroscopy of Bose Polarons: Dynamical Formation and Coherence

We propose and investigate a pump-probe spectroscopy scheme to unveil the time-resolved dynamics of fermionic or bosonic impurities immersed in a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. In this scheme a pump pulse initially transfers the impurities from a noninteracting to a resonantly interacting spin-state and, after a finite time in which the system evolves freely, the probe pulse reverses this transition. This directly allows to monitor the nonequilibrium dynamics of the impurities as the dynamical formation of coherent attractive or repulsive Bose polarons and signatures of their induced-interactions are imprinted in the probe spectra. We show that for interspecies repulsions exceeding the intraspecies ones a temporal orthogonality catastrophe occurs, followed by enhanced energy redistribution processes, independently of the impurity's flavor. This phenomenon takes place over the characteristic trap timescales. For much longer timescales a steady state is reached characterized by substantial losses of coherence of the impurities. This steady state is related to eigenstate thermalization and it is demonstrated to be independent of the system's characteristics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Stationary and dynamical properties of two harmonically trapped bosons in the crossover from two dimensions to one

We unravel the stationary properties and the interaction quench dynamics of two bosons, confined in a two-dimensional anisotropic harmonic trap. A transcendental equation is derived giving access to the energy spectrum and revealing the dependence of the energy gaps on the anisotropy parameter. The relation between the two and the one dimensional scattering lengths as well as the Tan contacts is established. The contact, capturing the two-body short range correlations, shows an increasing tendency for a larger anisotropy. Subsequently, the interaction quench dynamics from attractive to repulsive values and vice versa is investigated for various anisotropies. A closed analytical form of the expansion coefficients of the two-body wavefunction, during the time evolution is constructed. The response of the system is studied by means of the time-averaged fidelity, the spectra of the spatial extent of the cloud in each direction and the one-body density. It is found that as the anisotropy increases, the system becomes less perturbed independently of the interactions while for fixed anisotropy quenches towards the non-interacting regime perturb the system in the most efficient manner. Furthermore, we identify that in the tightly confined direction more frequencies are involved in the dynamics stemming from higher-lying excited states.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Induced interactions and quench dynamics of bosonic impurities immersed in a Fermi sea

We unravel the ground state properties and the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of two bosonic impurities immersed in an one-dimensional fermionic environment by applying a quench of the impurity-medium interaction strength. In the ground state, the impurities and the Fermi sea are phase-separated for strong impurity-medium repulsions while they experience a localization tendency around the trap center for large attractions. We demonstrate the presence of attractive induced interactions mediated by the host for impurity-medium couplings of either sign and analyze the competition between induced and direct interactions. Following a quench to repulsive interactions triggers a breathing motion in both components, with an interaction dependent frequency and amplitude for the impurities, and a dynamical phase-separation between the impurities and their surrounding for strong repulsions. For attractive post-quench couplings a beating pattern owing its existence to the dominant role of induced interactions takes place with both components showing a localization trend around the trap center. In both quench scenarios, attractive induced correlations are manifested between non-interacting impurities and are found to dominate the direct ones only for quenches to attractive couplings.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Controlled Generation of Dark-Bright Soliton Complexes in Two-Component and Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

We report on the controlled creation of multiple soliton complexes of the dark-bright type in one-dimensional two-component, three-component and spinor Bose-Einstein condensates. The formation of these states is based on the so-called matter wave interference of separated condensate fragments. In all three cases a systematic numerical study is carried out upon considering different variations of each systems' parameters both in the absence and in the presence of a harmonic trap. It is found that the judicious selection of the initial separation or the chemical potential of the participating components can be utilized to tailor the number of nucleated states. The latter increases as the former parameters are increased. Similarities and differences of the distinct models considered herein are showcased while the robustness of the emerging states is illustrated via the numerical experiments demonstrating their long time propagation. Importantly, for the spinorial system, we unravel the existence of beating dark soliton arrays that are formed due to the spin-mixing dynamics. These states persist in the presence of a parabolic trap, often relevant for associated experimental realizations.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Many-body effects on second-order phase transitions in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates and breathing dynamics

We unravel the correlation effects of the second-order quantum phase transitions emerging on the ground state of a harmonically trapped spin-1 Bose gas, upon varying the involved Zeeman terms, as well as its breathing dynamics triggered by quenching the trapping frequency. It is found that the boundaries of the associated magnetic phases are altered in the presence of interparticle correlations for both ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic spin-spin interactions, an effect which becomes more prominent in the few-body scenario. Most importantly, we unveil a correlation-induced shrinking of the anti-ferromagnetic and broken-axisymmetry phases implying that ground states with bosons polarized in a single spin-component are favored. Turning to the dynamical response of the spinor gas it is shown that its breathing frequency is independent of the system parameters while correlations lead to the formation of filamentary patterns in the one-body density of the participating components. The number of filaments is larger for increasing spin-independent interaction strengths or for smaller particle numbers. Each filament maintains its coherence and exhibits an anti-correlated behavior while distinct filaments show significant losses of coherence and are two-body correlated. Interestingly, we demonstrate that for an initial broken-axisymmetry phase an enhanced spin-flip dynamics takes place which can be tuned either via the linear Zeeman term or the quench amplitude.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Observation and Analysis of Multiple Dark-Antidark Solitons in Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates

We report on the static and dynamical properties of multiple dark-antidark solitons (DADs) in two-component, repulsively interacting Bose-Einstein condensates. Motivated by experimental observations involving multiple DADs, we present a theoretical study which showcases that bound states consisting of dark (antidark) solitons in the first (second) component of the mixture exist for different values of interspecies interactions. It is found that ensembles of few DADs may exist as stable configurations, while for larger DAD arrays, the relevant windows of stability with respect to the interspecies interaction strength become progressively narrower. Moreover, the dynamical formation of states consisting of alternating DADs in the two components of the mixture is monitored. A complex dynamical evolution of these states is observed, leading either to sorted DADs or to beating dark-dark solitons depending on the strength of the interspecies coupling. This study demonstrates clear avenues for future investigations of DAD configurations.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Induced correlations between impurities in a one-dimensional quenched Bose gas

We explore the time evolution of two impurities in a trapped one-dimensional Bose gas that follows a change of the boson-impurity interaction. We study the induced impurity-impurity interactions and their effect on the quench dynamics. In particular, we report on the size of the impurity cloud, the impurity-impurity entanglement, and the impurity-impurity correlation function. The presented numerical simulations are based upon the variational multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons. To analyze and quantify induced impurity-impurity correlations, we employ an effective two-body Hamiltonian with a contact interaction. We show that the effective model consistent with the mean-field attraction of two heavy impurities explains qualitatively our results for weak interactions. Our findings suggest that the quench dynamics in cold-atom systems can be a tool for studying impurity-impurity correlations.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Parametrically excited star-shaped patterns at the interface of binary Bose-Einstein condensates

A Faraday-wave-like parametric instability is investigated via mean-field and Floquet analysis in immiscible binary Bose-Einstein condensates. The condensates form a so-called \textit{ball-shell} structure in a two-dimensional harmonic trap. To trigger the dynamics, the scattering length of the core condensate is periodically modulated in time. We reveal that in the dynamics the interface becomes unstable towards the formation of oscillating patterns. The interface oscillates sub-harmonically exhibiting an $m$-fold rotational symmetry that can be controlled by maneuvering the amplitude and the frequency of the modulation. Using Floquet analysis we are able to predict the generated interfacial tension of the mixture and derive a dispersion relation for the natural frequencies of the emergent patterns. A heteronuclear system composed of $^{87}$Rb-$^{85}$Rb atoms can be used for the experimental realization of the phenomenon, yet our results are independent of the specifics of the employed atomic species {and of the parameter at which the driving is applied.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Many-body quantum dynamics and induced correlations of Bose polarons

We study the ground state properties and nonequilibrium dynamics of two spinor bosonic impurities immersed in a one-dimensional bosonic gas upon applying an interspecies interaction quench. For the ground state of two non-interacting impurities we reveal signatures of attractive induced interactions in both cases of attractive or repulsive interspecies interactions, while a weak impurity-impurity repulsion forces the impurities to stay apart. Turning to the quench dynamics we inspect the time-evolution of the contrast unveiling the existence, dynamical deformation and the orthogonality catastrophe of Bose polarons. We find that for an increasing postquench repulsion the impurities reside in a superposition of two distinct two-body configurations while at strong repulsions their corresponding two-body correlation patterns show a spatially delocalized behavior evincing the involvement of higher excited states. For attractive interspecies couplings, the impurities exhibit a tendency to localize at the origin and remarkably for strong attractions they experience a mutual attraction on the two-body level that is imprinted as a density hump on the bosonic bath.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗