Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate
A quantum vortex dipole, comprised of a closely bound pair of vortices of equal strength with opposite circulation, is a spatially localized travelling excitation of a planar superfluid that carries linear momentum, suggesting a possible analogy with ray optics. We investigate numerically and ana...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SciPost
2019-03-01
|
| Series: | SciPost Physics |
| Online Access: | https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.6.3.032 |
| _version_ | 1811262432395395072 |
|---|---|
| author | Michael M. Cawte, Xiaoquan Yu, Brian P. Anderson, Ashton S. Bradley |
| author_facet | Michael M. Cawte, Xiaoquan Yu, Brian P. Anderson, Ashton S. Bradley |
| author_sort | Michael M. Cawte, Xiaoquan Yu, Brian P. Anderson, Ashton S. Bradley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A quantum vortex dipole, comprised of a closely bound pair of vortices of
equal strength with opposite circulation, is a spatially localized travelling
excitation of a planar superfluid that carries linear momentum, suggesting a
possible analogy with ray optics. We investigate numerically and analytically
the motion of a quantum vortex dipole incident upon a step-change in the
background superfluid density of an otherwise uniform two-dimensional
Bose-Einstein condensate. Due to the conservation of fluid momentum and energy,
the incident and refracted angles of the dipole satisfy a relation analogous to
Snell's law, when crossing the interface between regions of different density.
The predictions of the analogue Snell's law relation are confirmed for a wide
range of incident angles by systematic numerical simulations of the
Gross-Piteavskii equation. Near the critical angle for total internal
reflection, we identify a regime of anomalous Snell's law behaviour where the
finite size of the dipole causes transient capture by the interface.
Remarkably, despite the extra complexity of the surface interaction, the
incoming and outgoing dipole paths obey Snell's law. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:25:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e74700360a74db8b1d256204339cb26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2542-4653 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:25:10Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | SciPost |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SciPost Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e74700360a74db8b1d256204339cb262022-12-22T03:19:29ZengSciPostSciPost Physics2542-46532019-03-016303210.21468/SciPostPhys.6.3.032Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensateMichael M. Cawte, Xiaoquan Yu, Brian P. Anderson, Ashton S. BradleyA quantum vortex dipole, comprised of a closely bound pair of vortices of equal strength with opposite circulation, is a spatially localized travelling excitation of a planar superfluid that carries linear momentum, suggesting a possible analogy with ray optics. We investigate numerically and analytically the motion of a quantum vortex dipole incident upon a step-change in the background superfluid density of an otherwise uniform two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate. Due to the conservation of fluid momentum and energy, the incident and refracted angles of the dipole satisfy a relation analogous to Snell's law, when crossing the interface between regions of different density. The predictions of the analogue Snell's law relation are confirmed for a wide range of incident angles by systematic numerical simulations of the Gross-Piteavskii equation. Near the critical angle for total internal reflection, we identify a regime of anomalous Snell's law behaviour where the finite size of the dipole causes transient capture by the interface. Remarkably, despite the extra complexity of the surface interaction, the incoming and outgoing dipole paths obey Snell's law.https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.6.3.032 |
| spellingShingle | Michael M. Cawte, Xiaoquan Yu, Brian P. Anderson, Ashton S. Bradley Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate SciPost Physics |
| title | Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate |
| title_full | Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate |
| title_fullStr | Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate |
| title_short | Snell's Law for a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate |
| title_sort | snell s law for a vortex dipole in a bose einstein condensate |
| url | https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.6.3.032 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelmcawtexiaoquanyubrianpandersonashtonsbradley snellslawforavortexdipoleinaboseeinsteincondensate |