Shell-shaped Bose–Einstein condensates: Dynamics, excitations, and thermodynamics
Abstract
Shell-shaped Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) represent a paradigmatic instance of quantum fluids in hollow geometries exhibiting phenomena that bridge from ultracold atomic to astrophysical realms. In this work, we present a comprehensive survey of the dynamics, thermodynamics, and collective excitations of shell-shaped BECs, synthesizing two decades of our group's theoretical work in light of recent experimental breakthroughs. We begin by analyzing the evolution of a BEC from filled-sphere to hollow-shell geometries, illustrating the necessity of microgravity conditions to avoid gravitational sag. We then analyze the collective mode structure across this evolution and pinpoint a universal dip in the frequency spectra as well as mode reconfiguration due to inner-surface excitations as robust signatures of the hollowing-out transition. Turning to vortex physics, we show that the closed-surface topology enforces vortex–antivortex configurations in shell-shaped BECs and that the natural annihilation of these pairs can be stabilized by rotation, with the critical rotation rate depending on shell thickness. In the thermodynamic domain, we investigate the interplay between shell inflation and the BEC phase transition, where adiabatic expansions lead to condensate depletion. This behavior motivates a study of the nonequilibrium dynamics of shell-shaped BECs; we perform such a study by constructing a time-dependent dynamic technique that can capture the evolution in both adiabatic and non-adiabatic regimes. Finally, we review recent experimental realizations of shell-shaped BECs, including the landmark creation of ultracold shells aboard the International Space Station, and outline prospects for exploring quantum fluids in curved geometries.
Details
- Organisationseinheit(en)
-
Institut für Quantenoptik
Quantum Sensing
Laboratorium für Nano- und Quantenengineering
QuantumFrontiers
- Externe Organisation(en)
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Washington State University Tri-Cities
Bates College
- Typ
- Artikel
- Journal
- AVS Quantum Science
- Band
- 8
- Publikationsdatum
- 01.03.2026
- Publikationsstatus
- Veröffentlicht
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
- Elektronische, optische und magnetische Materialien, Atom- und Molekularphysik sowie Optik, Physik der kondensierten Materie, Computernetzwerke und -kommunikation, Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Theoretische Informatik und Mathematik, Elektrotechnik und Elektronik
- Elektronische Version(en)
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https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0320794 (Zugang:
Offen
)
