Consistent Theory of Self-Bound Quantum Droplets with Bosonic Pairing

Strongly Anisotropic Vortices in Dipolar Quantum Droplets

We construct strongly anisotropic quantum droplets with embedded vorticity in the 3D space, with mutually perpendicular vortex axis and polarization of atomic magnetic moments. Stability of these anisotropic vortex quantum droplets (AVQDs) is verified by means of systematic simulations. Their stability area is identified in the parametric plane of the total atom number and scattering length of the contact interactions. We also construct vortex-antivortex-vortex bound states and find their stability region in the parameter space. The application of a torque perpendicular to the vorticity axis gives rise to robust intrinsic oscillations or rotation of the AVQDs. The effect of three-body losses on the AVQD stability is considered too. The results show that the AVQDs can retain the topological structure (vorticity) for a sufficiently long time if the scattering length exceeds a critical value.

Quantum Criticality of Liquid-Gas Transition in a Binary Bose Mixture

Quantum liquid, in the form of a self-bound droplet, is stabilized by a subtle balance between the mean-field contribution and quantum fluctuations. While a liquid-gas transition is expected when such a balance is broken, it remains elusive whether liquid-gas critical points exist in the quantum regime. Here, we study the quantum criticality in a binary Bose mixture undergoing the liquid-gas transition. We show that, beyond a narrow stability window of the self-bound liquid, a liquid-gas coexistence persists, which eventually transits into a homogeneous mixture. Importantly, we identify two distinct critical points where the liquid-gas coexistence terminates. These critical points are characterized by rich critical behaviors in their vicinity, including divergent susceptibility, unique phonon-mode softening, and enhanced density correlations. The liquid-gas transition and the critical points can be readily explored in ultracold atoms confined to a box potential. Our work highlights the thermodynamic approach as a powerful tool in revealing the quantum liquid-gas criticality, and paves the way for further studies of critical phenomena in quantum liquids.

Weakly-Interacting Bose–Bose Mixtures from the Functional Renormalisation Group

We provide a detailed presentation of the functional renormalisation group (FRG) approach for weakly-interacting Bose–Bose mixtures, including a complete discussion on the RG equations. To test this approach, we examine thermodynamic properties of balanced three-dimensional Bose–Bose gases at zero and finite temperatures and find a good agreement with related works. We also study ground-state energies of repulsive Bose polarons by examining mixtures in the limit of infinite population imbalance. Finally, we discuss future applications of the FRG to novel problems in Bose–Bose mixtures and related systems.

Observation of a Lee-Huang-Yang Fluid

We observe monopole oscillations in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates, where the usually dominant mean-field interactions are canceled. In this case, the system is governed by the next-order Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction to the ground state energy, which describes the effect of quantum fluctuations. Experimentally such a LHY fluid is realized by controlling the atom numbers and interaction strengths in a ^{39}K spin mixture confined in a spherical trap potential. We measure the monopole oscillation frequency as a function of the LHY interaction strength as proposed recently by Jrgensen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 173403 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.121.173403] and find excellent agreement with simulations of the complete experiment including the excitation procedure and inelastic losses. This confirms that the system and its collective behavior are initially dominated by LHY interactions. Moreover, the monopole oscillation frequency is found to be stable against variations of the involved scattering lengths in a broad region around the ideal values, confirming the stabilizing effect of the LHY interaction. These results pave the way for using the nonlinearity provided by the LHY term in quantum simulation experiments and for investigations beyond the LHY regime.

Quantum Droplet States of a Binary Magnetic Gas

Quantum droplets can emerge in bosonic binary magnetic gases (BMGs) from the interplay of short- and long-ranged interactions, and quantum fluctuations. We develop an extended mean field theory for this system and use it to predict equilibrium and dynamical properties of BMG droplets. We present a phase diagram and characterize miscible and immiscible droplet states. We also show that a single-component self-bound droplet can bind another magnetic component, which is not in the droplet regime, due to the interspecies dipole-dipole interactions. Our results should be realizable in experiments with mixtures of highly magnetic lanthanide atoms.