Collisions of self bound quantum droplets

Year: 2019

Authors: Ferioli Giovanni; Semeghini Giulia; Masi Leonardo; Giusti Giovanni; Modugno Giovanni; Inguscio Massimo; Gallemi Albert; Recati Alessio; Fattori Marco

Autors Affiliation: LENS and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universita di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy; CNR Istituto Nazionale Ottica, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy; INO-CNR BEC Center and Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Trento, Povo, 38123, Italy; Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, INFN, Trento, 38123, Italy

Abstract: We report on the study of binary collisions between quantum droplets formed by an attractive mixture of ultracold atoms. We distinguish two main outcomes of the collision, i.e., merging and separation, depending on the velocity of the colliding pair. The critical velocity vc that discriminates between the two cases displays a different dependence on the atom number N for small and large droplets. By comparing our experimental results with numerical simulations, we show that the nonmonotonic behavior of v(c) (N) due to the crossover from a compressible to an incompressible regime, where the collisional dynamics is governed by different energy scales, i.e., the droplet binding energy and the surface tension. These results also provide the first evidence of the liquidlike nature of quantum droplets in the large N limit, where their behavior closely resembles that of classical liquid droplets.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 122 (9)      Pages from: 09040  to: 09040

More Information: We acknowledge insightful discussions with F. Ancilotto, F. Dalfovo, S. Stringari, and our colleagues of the Quantum Gases group at LENS. A. G. and A. R. acknowledge funding by the Provincia Autonoma di Trento and by the FIS project of the Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. This work was supported by EC-H2020 Grant QUIC No. 641122 and by the project TAIOL of QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies (Grant Agreement No. 731473) implemented within the European Union?s Horizon 2020 Programme.
KeyWords: Quantum droplets, atomic mixtures, coalescence.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.090401

Citations: 138
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