English

Superflow in a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate: an atom circuit with a tunable weak link

Quantum Gases 2017-11-08 v2

Abstract

We have created a long-lived (~ 40 s) persistent current in a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate held in an all-optical trap. A repulsive optical barrier creates a tunable weak link in the condensate circuit, which can affect the current around the loop. Superflow stops abruptly at a barrier strength such that the local flow velocity exceeds a critical velocity. The measured critical velocity is consistent with dissipation due to the creation of vortex-antivortex pairs. This system is the first realization of an elementary closed-loop atom circuit.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1101.0019,
  title  = {Superflow in a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate: an atom circuit with a tunable weak link},
  author = {A. Ramanathan and K. C. Wright and S. R. Muniz and M. Zelan and W. T. Hill and C. J. Lobb and K. Helmerson and W. D. Phillips and G. K. Campbell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1101.0019},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PRL

R2 v1 2026-06-21T17:05:30.803Z