arXiv subjects

V. Delgado

Publications and source records attributed to V. Delgado.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Self-Interacting Superfluid Dark Matter Droplets

We assume dark matter to be a cosmological self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensate of non-relativistic ultralight scalar particles with competing gravitational and repulsive contact interactions and investigate the observational implications of such model. The system is unstable to the formation of stationary self-bound structures that minimize the energy functional. These cosmological superfluid droplets, which are the smallest possible gravitationally bound dark matter structures, exhibit a universal mass profile and a corresponding universal rotation curve. Assuming a hierarchical structure formation scenario where granular dark matter haloes grow around these primordial stationary droplets, the model predicts cored haloes with rotation curves that obey a single universal equation in the inner region ($r \lesssim 1$ kpc). A simultaneous fit to a selection of galaxies from the SPARC database chosen with the sole criterion of being strongly dark matter dominated even within the innermost region, indicates that the observational data are consistent with the presence of a Bose-Einstein condensate of ultralight scalar particles of mass $m \simeq 2.2 \times 10^{-22}$ eV c$^{-2}$ and repulsive self-interactions characterized by a scattering length $a_s \simeq 7.8 \times 10^{-77}$ m. Such small self-interactions have profound consequences on cosmological scales. They induce a natural minimum scale length for the size of dark matter structures that makes all cores similar in length ($\sim 1$ kpc) and contributes to lower their central densities.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

TRITIUM - A Real-Time Tritium Monitor System for Water Quality Surveillance

In this work the development results of the TRITIUM project is presented. The main objective of the project is the construction of a near real-time monitor for low activity tritium in water, aimed at in-situ surveillance and radiological protection of river water in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. The European Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom requires that the maximum level of tritium in water for human consumption to be lower than 100 Bq/L. Tritium levels in the cooling water of nuclear power plants in normal operation are much higher than the levels caused by the natural and cosmogenic components, and may easily surmount the limit required by the Directive. The current liquid-scintillation measuring systems in environmental radioactivity laboratories are sensitive to such low levels, but they are not suitable for real-time monitoring. Moreover, there is no currently available device with enough sensitivity and monitoring capabilities that could be used for surveillance of the cooling water of nuclear power plants. A detector system based on scintillation fibers read out by photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) or silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays is under development for in-water tritium measurement. This detector will be installed in the vicinity of Almaraz nuclear power plant (Spain) in Spring 2019. An overview of the project development and the results of first prototypes are presented.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear waves of Bose-Einstein condensates in rotating ring lattice potentials

We analyze the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates loaded in rotating ring lattices made of a few sites, and show how rotation maps the states found in this finite system into those belonging to a static infinite lattice. Ring currents and soliton states in the absence of a lattice find their continuation in the presence of the lattice as nonlinear Bloch waves and soliton-like states connecting them. Both bright gap solitons and dark-soliton trains are shown to connect continuously to linear solutions. The existence of adiabatic paths upon varying rotation frequency between states with quantized supercurrents suggests highly controllable methods for the experimental generation of persistent currents.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Stable symmetry-protected 3D embedded solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates

Embedded solitons are rare self-localized nonlinear structures that, counterintuitively, survive inside a continuous background of resonant states. While this topic has been widely studied in nonlinear optics, it has received almost no attention in the field of Bose-Einstein condensation. In this work, we consider experimentally realizable Bose-Einstein condensates loaded in one-dimensional optical lattices and demonstrate that they support continuous families of stable three-dimensional (3D) embedded solitons. These solitons can exist inside the resonant continuous Bloch bands because they are protected by symmetry. The analysis of the Bogoliubov excitation spectrum as well as the long-term evolution after random perturbations proves the robustness of these nonlinear structures against any weak perturbation. This may open up a way for the experimental realization of stable 3D matter-wave embedded solitons as well as for monitoring the gap-soliton to embedded-soliton transition.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Accurate one-dimensional effective description of realistic matter-wave gap solitons

We consider stationary matter-wave gap solitons realized in Bose--Einstein condensates loaded in one-dimensional (1D) optical lattices and investigate whether the effective 1D equation proposed in [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{77}, 013617 (2008)] can be a reliable alternative to the three-dimensional treatment of this kind of system in terms of the Gross--Pitaevskii equation (GPE). Our results demonstrate that, unlike the standard 1D GPE (which is not applicable in most realistic situations), the above effective model is able to correctly predict the distinctive trajectories characterizing the different gap soliton families as well as the corresponding axial wavefunctions along the entire band gaps. It can also predict the stability properties of the different gap soliton families as follows from both a linear stability analysis and a representative set of numerical computations. In particular, by numerically solving the corresponding Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations we show that the effective 1D model gives the correct spectrum of complex eigenfrequencies responsible for the dynamical stability of the system, thus providing us with a useful tool for the physical description of stationary matter-wave gap solitons in 1D optical lattices.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Effective equations for matter-wave gap solitons in higher-order transversal states

We demonstrate that an important class of nonlinear stationary solutions of the three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) exhibiting nontrivial transversal configurations can be found and characterized in terms of an effective one-dimensional (1D) model. Using a variational approach we derive effective equations of lower dimensionality for BECs in $(m,n_{r})$ transversal states (states featuring a central vortex of charge $m$ as well as $n_{r}$ concentric zero-density rings at every $z$ plane) which provides us with a good approximate solution of the original 3D problem. Since the specifics of the transversal dynamics can be absorbed in the renormalization of a couple of parameters, the functional form of the equations obtained is universal. The model proposed finds its principal application in the study of the existence and classification of 3D gap solitons supported by 1D optical lattices, where in addition to providing a good estimate for the 3D wave functions it is able to make very good predictions for the $μ(N)$ curves characterizing the different fundamental families. We have corroborated the validity of our model by comparing its predictions with those from the exact numerical solution of the full 3D GPE.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Gap solitons in elongated geometries: the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation and beyond

We report results of a systematic analysis of matter-wave gap solitons (GSs) in three-dimensional self-repulsive Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) loaded into a combination of a cigar-shaped trap and axial optical-lattice (OL) potential. Basic cases of the strong, intermediate, and weak radial (transverse) confinement are considered, as well as settings with shallow and deep OL potentials. Only in the case of the shallow lattice combined with tight radial confinement, which actually has little relevance to realistic experimental conditions, does the usual one-dimensional (1D) cubic Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) furnish a sufficiently accurate description of GSs. However, the effective 1D equation with the nonpolynomial nonlinearity, derived in Ref. [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{77}, 013617 (2008)], provides for quite an accurate approximation for the GSs in all cases, including the situation with weak transverse confinement, when the soliton's shape includes a considerable contribution from higher-order transverse modes, in addition to the usual ground-state wave function of the respective harmonic oscillator. Both fundamental GSs and their multipeak bound states are considered. The stability is analyzed by means of systematic simulations. It is concluded that almost all the fundamental GSs are stable, while their bound states may be stable if the underlying OL potential is deep enough.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Three-dimensional gap solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates supported by one-dimensional optical lattices

We study fundamental and compound gap solitons (GSs) of matter waves in one-dimensional (1D) optical lattices (OLs) in a three-dimensional (3D) weak-radial-confinement regime, which corresponds to realistic experimental conditions in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). In this regime GSs exhibit nontrivial radial structures. Associated with each 3D linear spectral band exists a family of fundamental gap solitons that share a similar transverse structure with the Bloch waves of the corresponding linear band. GSs with embedded vorticity $m$ may exist \emph{inside} bands corresponding to other values of $m$. Stable GSs, both fundamental and compound ones (including vortex solitons), are those which originate from the bands with lowest axial and radial quantum numbers. These findings suggest a scenario for the experimental generation of robust GSs in 3D settings.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2009

Effective one-dimensional dynamics of elongated Bose-Einstein condensates

By using a variational approach in combination with the adiabatic approximation we derive a new effective 1D equation of motion for the axial dynamics of elongated condensates. For condensates with vorticity $|q|=0$ or 1, this equation coincides with our previous proposal [A. Muñoz Mateo and V. Delgado, Phys. Rev. A \textbf{77}, 013617 (2008)]. We also rederive the nonpolynomial Schrödinger equation (NPSE) in terms of the adiabatic approximation. This provides a unified treatment for obtaining the different effective equations and allows appreciating clearly the differences and similarities between the various proposals. We also obtain an expression for the axial healing length of cigar-shaped condensates and show that, in the local density approximation and in units of the axial oscillator length, it coincides with the inverse of the condensate axial half-length. From this result it immediately follows the necessary condition for the validity of the local density approximation. Finally, we obtain analytical formulas that give the frequency of the axial breathing mode with accuracy better than 1%. These formulas can be relevant from an experimental point of view since they can be expressed in terms only of the axial half-length and remain valid in the crossover between the Thomas-Fermi and the quasi-1D mean-field regimes. We have corroborated the validity of our results by numerically solving the full 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Effective mean-field equations for cigar-shaped and disk-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates

By applying the standard adiabatic approximation and using the accurate analytical expression for the corresponding local chemical potential obtained in our previous work [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{75}, 063610 (2007)] we derive an effective 1D equation that governs the axial dynamics of mean-field cigar-shaped condensates with repulsive interatomic interactions, accounting accurately for the contribution from the transverse degrees of freedom. This equation, which is more simple than previous proposals, is also more accurate. Moreover, it allows treating condensates containing an axisymmetric vortex with no additional cost. Our effective equation also has the correct limit in both the quasi-1D mean-field regime and the Thomas-Fermi regime and permits one to derive fully analytical expressions for ground-state properties such as the chemical potential, axial length, axial density profile, and local sound velocity. These analytical expressions remain valid and accurate in between the above two extreme regimes. Following the same procedure we also derive an effective 2D equation that governs the transverse dynamics of mean-field disk-shaped condensates. This equation, which also has the correct limit in both the quasi-2D and the Thomas-Fermi regime, is again more simple and accurate than previous proposals. We have checked the validity of our equations by numerically solving the full 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Ground-state properties of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates: Extension of the Thomas-Fermi approximation

We derive general approximate formulas that provide with remarkable accuracy the ground-state properties of any mean-field scalar Bose-Einstein condensate with short-range repulsive interatomic interactions, confined in arbitrary cylindrically symmetric harmonic traps. Our formulation is even applicable for condensates containing a multiply quantized axisymmetric vortex. We have checked the validity of our formulas by numerically solving the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Extension of the Thomas-Fermi approximation for trapped Bose-Einstein condensates with an arbitrary number of atoms

By incorporating the zero-point energy contribution we derive simple and accurate extensions of the usual Thomas-Fermi (TF) expressions for the ground-state properties of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates that remain valid for an arbitrary number of atoms in the mean-field regime. Specifically, we obtain approximate analytical expressions for the ground-state properties of spherical, cigar-shaped, and disk-shaped condensates that reduce to the correct analytical formulas in both the TF and the perturbative regimes, and remain valid and accurate in between these two limiting cases. Mean-field quasi-1D and -2D condensates appear as simple particular cases of our formulation. The validity of our results is corroborated by an independent numerical computation based on the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Dynamical evolution of a doubly-quantized vortex imprinted in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

The recent experiment by Y. Shin \emph{et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{93}, 160406 (2004)] on the decay of a doubly quantized vortex imprinted in $^{23}% $Na condensates is analyzed by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Our results, which are in very good quantitative agreement with the experiment, demonstrate that the vortex decay is mainly a consequence of dynamical instability. Despite apparent contradictions, the local density approach is consistent with the experimental results. The monotonic increase observed in the vortex lifetimes is a consequence of the fact that, for large condensates, the measured lifetimes incorporate the time it takes for the initial perturbation to reach the central slice. When considered locally, the splitting occurs approximately at the same time in every condensate, regardless of its size.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2003

Nonperturbative Coherent Population Trapping: An Analytic Model

Coherent population trapping is shown to occur in a driven symmetric double-well potential in the strong-field regime. The system parameters have been chosen to reproduce the $0^{-}\leftrightarrow 3^{+}$ transition of the inversion mode of the ammonia molecule. For a molecule initially prepared in its lower doublet we find that, under certain circumstances, the $3^{+}$ level remains unpopulated, and this occurs in spite of the fact that the laser field is resonant with the $0^{-}\leftrightarrow 3^{+}$ transition and intense enough so as to strongly mix the $0^{+}$ and $0^{-}$ ground states. This counterintuitive result constitutes a coherent population trapping phenomenon of nonperturbative origin which cannot be accounted for with the usual models. We propose an analytic nonperturbative model which accounts correctly for the observed phenomenon.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2001

Semiclassical dressed states of two-level quantum systems driven by nonresonant and/or strong laser fields

Analytical expressions for the semiclassical dressed states and corresponding quasienergies are obtained for a two-level quantum system driven by a nonresonant and/or strong laser field in a coherent state. These expressions are of first order in a proper perturbative expansion, and already contain all the relevant physical information on the dynamical and spectroscopic properties displayed by these systems under such particular conditions. The influence of the laser field parameters on transition frequencies, selection rules, and line intensities can be easily understood in terms of the quasienergy-level diagram and the allowed transitions between the different semiclassical dressed states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2000

Perturbative evolution of far off-resonance driven two-level systems: Coherent population trapping, localization, and harmonic generation

The time evolution of driven two-level systems in the far off-resonance regime is studied analytically. We obtain a general first-order perturbative expression for the time-dependent density operator which is applicable regardless of the coupling strength value. In the strong field regime, our perturbative expansion remains valid even when the far off-resonance condition is not fulfilled. We find that, in the absence of dissipation, driven two-level systems exhibit coherent population trapping in a certain region of parameter space, a property which, in the particular case of a symmetric double-well potential, implies the well-known localization of the system in one of the two wells. Finally, we show how the high-order harmonic generation that this kind of systems display can be obtained as a straightforward application of our formulation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1998

Quantum probability distribution of arrival times and probability current density

This paper compares the proposal made in previous papers for a quantum probability distribution of the time of arrival at a certain point with the corresponding proposal based on the probability current density. Quantitative differences between the two formulations are examined analytically and numerically with the aim of establishing conditions under which the proposals might be tested by experiment. It is found that quantum regime conditions produce the biggest differences between the formulations which are otherwise near indistinguishable. These results indicate that in order to discriminate conclusively among the different alternatives, the corresponding experimental test should be performed in the quantum regime and with sufficiently high resolution so as to resolve small quantum efects.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1997

Probability distribution of arrival times in quantum mechanics

In a previous paper [V. Delgado and J. G. Muga, Phys. Rev. A 56, 3425 (1997)] we introduced a self-adjoint operator $\hat {\cal T}(X)$ whose eigenstates can be used to define consistently a probability distribution of the time of arrival at a given spatial point. In the present work we show that the probability distribution previously proposed can be well understood on classical grounds in the sense that it is given by the expectation value of a certain positive definite operator $\hat J^{(+)}(X)$ which is nothing but a straightforward quantum version of the modulus of the classical current. For quantum states highly localized in momentum space about a certain momentum $p_0 \neq 0$, the expectation value of $\hat J^{(+)}(X)$ becomes indistinguishable from the quantum probability current. This fact may provide a justification for the common practice of using the latter quantity as a probability distribution of arrival times.

quant-ph↗