Soft-core Interaction Research Articles

Three-dimensional isotropic droplets in Rydberg-dressed Bose gases

We predict a scheme for the creation of isotropic three-dimensional quantum droplets in Rydbeg-dressed Bose gases, which contain both repulsive contact interactions and attractive soft-core interactions. Via manipulating laser detuning, the droplet size and particle number density could be engineered. Quantum fluctuation induced Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction should be considered to stabilize droplets when LHY energy is comparable to the mean-field energy. Self-trapped droplets possess flat-top density distribution for a large particle number, and the collective excitations are calculated to determine the self-evaporation threshold. We further distinguish quantum droplets from solitons according to condensate compressibility. Finally, the dynamic stability of droplets is examined by pairwise-droplet collision. Our system could realize the most dilute quantum droplets, and establish a promising platform for further simulating topological nontrivial droplets. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Superfluid fraction tensor of a two-dimensional supersolid

We investigate the superfluid fraction of crystalline stationary states within the framework of mean-field Gross–Pitaevskii theory. Our primary focus is on a two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate with a non-local soft-core interaction, where the superfluid fraction is described by a rank-2 tensor. We then calculate the superfluid fraction tensor for crystalline states exhibiting triangular, square, and stripe geometries across a broad range of interaction parameters. Factors leading to an anisotropic superfluid fraction tensor are also considered. We also refine the Leggett bounds for the superfluid fraction of the 2D system. We systematically compare these bounds to our full numerical results, and other results in the literature. This work is of direct relevance to other supersolid systems of current interest, such as supersolids produced using dipolar Bose–Einstein condensates.

Low-frequency hybridized excess vibrations of two-dimensional glasses

One hallmark of glasses is the existence of excess vibrational modes at low frequencies ω beyond Debye’s prediction. Numerous studies suggest that understanding low-frequency excess vibrations could help gain insight into the anomalous mechanical and thermodynamic properties of glasses. However, there is still intensive debate as to the frequency dependence of the population of low-frequency excess vibrations. In particular, excess modes could hybridize with phonon-like modes and the density of hybridized excess modes has been reported to follow D exc(ω) ∼ ω 2 in 2D glasses with an inverse power law potential. Yet, the universality of the quadratic scaling remains unknown, since recent work suggested that interaction potentials could influence the scaling of the vibrational spectrum. Here, we extend the universality of the quadratic scaling for hybridized excess modes in 2D to glasses with potentials ranging from the purely repulsive soft-core interaction to the hard-core one with both repulsion and attraction as well as to glasses with significant differences in density or interparticle repulsion. Moreover, we observe that the number of hybridized excess modes exhibits a decrease in glasses with higher density or steeper interparticle repulsion, which is accompanied by a suppression of the strength of the sound attenuation. Our results indicate that the density bears some resemblance to the repulsive steepness of the interaction in influencing low-frequency properties.

Understanding the glassy dynamics from melting temperatures in binary glass-forming liquids.

It is natural to expect that small particles in binary mixtures move faster than large ones. However, in binary glass-forming liquids with soft-core particle interactions, we observe the counterintuitive dynamic reversal between large and small particles along with the increase of pressure by performing molecular dynamics simulations. The structural relaxation (dynamic heterogeneity) of small particles is faster (weaker) than large ones at low pressures, but becomes slower (stronger) above a crossover pressure. In contrast, this dynamic reversal never happens in glass-forming liquids with hard-core interactions. We find that the difference of the effective melting temperatures felt by large and small particles can be used to understand the dynamic reversal. In binary mixtures, we derive effective melting temperatures of large and small particles simply from the conversion of units and find that particles with a higher effective melting temperature usually undergo a slower and more heterogeneous relaxation. The presence (absence) of the dynamic reversal in soft-core (hard-core) systems is simply due to the non-monotonic (monotonic) behavior of the melting temperature as a function of pressure. Interestingly, by manipulating the relative softness between large and small particles, we obtain a special case of soft-core systems, in which large particles always have higher effective melting temperatures than small ones. As a result, the dynamic reversal is totally eliminated. Our work provides another piece of evidence of the underlying connections between the properties of non-equilibrium glass-formers and equilibrium crystal-formers.

Three-dimensional non-approximate Coulomb interaction between two trapped quantum particles

The two trapped quantum particles interacting problem is generalized to three dimensions, and the exact Coulomb potential is used. The system is solved by expanding the wavefunction in terms of the isotropic harmonic oscillator eigenfunctions and Hydrogen atom eigenfunctions independently, showing that each one results in a prime approximation for different domains of the normalized coupling constant of the relative interactions, suggesting that the combination of the basis is enough to build a well-suited base for the non-approximate problem. The results are compared to previous works that use a model of approximate finite-rage soft-core interaction model of the problem to give insights into the many-body states of strongly correlated ultracold bosons and fermions. We conclude that the proposed three-dimensional approach facilitates the distinction between bosons and fermions while the solutions given by the expansions better define the behavior of the particles for repulsive potentials. In addition, we discuss the substantial differences between our work and the previous approximate model.

Rydberg-dressed Bose–Einstein condensate with spin–orbit coupling confined in a radially periodic potential

The use of Rydberg dressing technology to achieve long-range soft-core interaction in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) opens up new avenues for exploration of supersolid and its related phenomenon. We investigate the ground state of a two-component spin–orbit-coupled BECs with both long-range soft-core and contact interactions in radially periodic potentials. Our results show that the ground-state structures of the system are strongly influenced by spin–orbit coupling, contact interactions, long-range soft-core interactions, and the amplitude of the external potential. We find that such parameters can been used to induce desired ground-states structures, such as necklace structure of lump, striped standing wave, and especially ring dark soliton. Furthermore, we observe that the long-range soft-core interactions are used to manipulate the transition between miscible-immiscible phases like contact interactions. Our research provides another degree of freedom for manipulating supersolids in spin–orbit-coupled BECs.

Density and pseudo-spin rotons in a bilayer of soft-core bosons

We study the dynamics of a bilayer system of bosons with repulsive soft-core Rydberg-dressed interactions within the mean-field Bogoliubov-de Gennes approximation. We find roton minima in both symmetric and asymmetric collective density modes of the symmetric bilayer. Depending on the density of bosons in each layer and the spacing between two layers, the homogeneous superfluid phase becomes unstable in either (or both) of these two channels, leading to density and pseudo-spin-density wave instabilities in the system. Breaking the symmetry between two layers, either with a finite counterflow or a density imbalance renormalizes the dispersion of collective modes and makes the system more susceptible to density-wave instability.

Enhancing spin squeezing using soft-core interactions

Ising interactions in the form of a soft-core potential, such as the ones experienced by Rydberg dressed atoms, can be combined with a strong coherent drive to help preserve collective spin coherences even in systems much larger than the range of the soft-core interactions. As a result, they can lead to the robust generation of metrologically useful spin-squeezed states in optical tweezer clocks.

Two-Component Spin–Orbit-Coupled Bose–Einstein Condensates with Soft-Core Long Range Interactions Confined in Concentrically Coupled Annular Traps

Two-Component Spin–Orbit-Coupled Bose–Einstein Condensates with Soft-Core Long Range Interactions Confined in Concentrically Coupled Annular Traps

Anomalous fluctuations of renewal-reward processes with heavy-tailed distributions.

For renewal-reward processes with a power-law decaying waiting time distribution, anomalously large probabilities are assigned to atypical values of the asymptotic processes. Previous works have revealed that this anomalous scaling causes a singularity in the corresponding large deviation function. In order to further understand this problem, we study in this article the scaling of variance in several renewal-reward processes: counting processes with two different power-law decaying waiting time distributions and a Knudsen gas (a heat conduction model). Through analytical and numerical analyses of these models, we find that the variances show an anomalous scaling when the exponent of the power law is -3. For a counting process with the power-law exponent smaller than -3, this anomalous scaling does not take place: this indicates that if we only consider the standard deviation from the expectation, any anomalous behavior will not be detected. In this case, we argue that anomalous scaling appears in higher order cumulants. Finally, many-body particles interacting through soft-core interactions with the boundary conditions employed in the Knudsen gas are studied using numerical simulations. We observe that the variance scaling becomes normal even though the power-law exponent in the boundary conditions is -3.

Diffusion on a lattice: Transition rates, interactions, and memory effects.

We analyze diffusion of particles on a two-dimensional square lattice. Each lattice site contains an arbitrary number of particles. Interactions affect particles only in the same site, and are macroscopically represented by the excess chemical potential. In a recent work, a general expression for transition rates between neighboring cells as functions of the excess chemical potential was derived. With transition rates, the mean-field tracer diffusivity, D^{MF}, is immediately obtained. The tracer diffusivity, D=D^{MF}f, contains the correlation factor f, representing memory effects. An analysis of the joint probability of having given numbers of particles at different sites when a force is applied to a tagged particle allows an approximate expression for f to be derived. The expression is applied to soft core interaction (different values for the maximum number of particles in a site are considered) and extended hard core.

Improving the Potential of Mean Force and Nonequilibrium Pulling Simulations by Simultaneous Alchemical Modifications.

We present an approach combining alchemical modifications and physical-pathway methods to calculate absolute binding free energies. The employed physical-pathway method is either a stratified umbrella sampling to calculate a potential of mean force or nonequilibrium pulling. We devised two basic approaches: the simultaneous approach (S-approach), where, along the physical unbinding pathway, an alchemical transformation of ligand-protein interactions is installed and deinstalled, and the prior-plus-simultaneous approach (PPS-approach), where, prior to the physical-pathway simulation, an alchemical transformation of ligand-protein interactions is installed in the binding site and deinstalled during the physical-pathway simulation. Using a mutant of T4 lysozyme with a benzene ligand as an example, we show that installation and deinstallation of soft-core interactions concurrent with physical ligand unbinding (S-approach) allow successful potential of mean force calculations and nonequilibrium pulling simulations despite the problems posed by the occluded nature of the lysozyme binding pocket. Good agreement between the potential of the mean-force-based S-approach and double decoupling simulations as well as a remarkable efficiency and accuracy of the nonequilibrium-pulling-based S-approach is found. The latter turned out to be more compute-efficient than the potential of mean force calculation by approximately 70%. Furthermore, we illustrate the merits of reducing ligand-protein interactions prior to potential of mean force calculations using the murine double minute homologue protein MDM2 with a p53-derived peptide ligand (PPS-approach). Here, the problem of breaking strong interactions in the binding pocket is transferred to a prior alchemical transformation that reduces the free-energy barrier between the bound and unbound state in the potential of mean force. Besides, disentangling physical ligand displacement from the deinstallation of ligand-protein interactions was seen to allow a more uniform sampling of distance histograms in the umbrella sampling. In the future, physical ligand unbinding combined with simultaneous alchemical modifications may prove useful in the calculation of protein-protein binding free energies, where sampling problems posed by multiple, possibly sticky interactions and potential steric clashes can thus be reduced.

Superglass formation in an atomic BEC with competing long-range interactions

The complex dynamical phases of quantum systems are dictated by atomic interactions that usually evoke an emergent periodic order. Here, we study a quantum many-body system with two competing and substantially different long-range interaction potentials where the dynamical instability towards density order can give way to a superglass phase, i. e., a superfluid disordered amorphous solid, which exhibits local density modulations but no long-range periodic order. We consider a two-dimensional BEC in the Rydberg-dressing regime coupled to an optical standing wave resonator. The dynamic pattern formation in this system is governed by the competition between the two involved interaction potentials: repulsive soft-core interactions arising due to Rydberg dressing and infinite-range sign changing interactions induced by the cavity photons. The superglass phase is found when the two interaction potentials introduce incommensurate length scales. The dynamic formation of this peculiar phase without any externally added disorder is driven by quantum fluctuations and can be attributed to frustration induced by the two competing interaction energies and length scales.

Dynamics of position-disordered Ising spins with a soft-core potential

We theoretically study the magnetization relaxation of Ising spins distributed randomly in a $d$-dimension homogeneous and Gaussian profile under a soft-core two-body interaction potential $\ensuremath{\propto}1/[1+{(r/{R}_{c})}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}]$ $(\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\ge}d)$, where $r$ is the interspin distance and ${R}_{c}$ is the soft-core radius. The dynamics starts with all spins polarized in the transverse direction. In the homogeneous case, an analytic expression is derived at the thermodynamic limit, which starts as $\ensuremath{\propto}exp(\ensuremath{-}k{t}^{2})$ with a constant $k$ and follows a stretched-exponential law at long time with an exponent $\ensuremath{\beta}=d/\ensuremath{\alpha}$. In between an oscillating behavior is observed with a damping amplitude. For Gaussian samples, the degree of disorder in the system can be controlled by the ratio ${l}_{\ensuremath{\rho}}/{R}_{c}$, with ${l}_{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ the mean interspin distance and the magnetization dynamics is investigated numerically. In the limit of ${l}_{\ensuremath{\rho}}/{R}_{c}\ensuremath{\ll}1$, a coherent many-body dynamics is recovered for the total magnetization despite the position disorder of spins. In the opposite limit of ${l}_{\ensuremath{\rho}}/{R}_{c}\ensuremath{\gg}1$, a similar dynamics as that in the homogeneous case emerges at a later time after a initial fast decay of the magnetization. We obtain a stretched exponent of $\ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\approx}0.18$ for the asymptotic evolution with $d=3,\ensuremath{\alpha}=6$, which is different from that in the homogeneous case $(\ensuremath{\beta}=0.5)$.

Prediction of a Supersolid Phase in High-Pressure Deuterium.

Supersolid is a mysterious and puzzling state of matter whose possible existence has stirred a vigorous debate among physicists for over 60years. Its elusive nature stems from the coexistence of two seemingly contradicting properties, long-range order and superfluidity. We report computational evidence of a supersolid phase of deuterium under high pressure (p>800 GPa) and low temperature (T<1.0 K). In our simulations, that are based on bosonic path integral molecular dynamics, we observe a highly concerted exchange of atoms while the system preserves its crystalline order. The exchange processes are favored by the soft core interactions between deuterium atoms that form a densely packed metallic solid. At the zero temperature limit, Bose-Einstein condensation is observed as the permutation probability of N deuterium atoms approaches 1/N with a finite superfluid fraction. Our study provides concrete evidence for the existence of a supersolid phase in high-pressure deuterium and could provide insights on the future investigation of supersolid phases in real materials.

Hyperchaos in a Bose-Hubbard Chain with Rydberg-Dressed Interactions

We study the chaos and hyperchaos of Rydberg-dressed Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in a one-dimensional optical lattice. Due to the long-range, soft-core interaction between the dressed atoms, the dynamics of the BECs are described by the extended Bose-Hubbard model. In the mean-field regime, we analyze the dynamical stability of the BEC by focusing on the ground state and localized state configurations. Lyapunov exponents of the two configurations are calculated by varying the soft-core interaction strength, potential bias, and length of the lattice. Both configurations can have multiple positive Lyapunov exponents, exhibiting hyperchaotic dynamics. We show the dependence of the number of the positive Lyapunov exponents and the largest Lyapunov exponent on the length of the optical lattice. The largest Lyapunov exponent is directly proportional to areas of phase space encompassed by the associated Poincaré sections. We demonstrate that linear and hysteresis quenches of the lattice potential and the dressed interaction lead to distinct dynamics due to the chaos and hyperchaos. Our work is relevant to current research on chaos as well as collective and emergent nonlinear dynamics of BECs with long-range interactions.

Application of the Widom insertion formula to transition rates in a lattice.

We consider diffusion of particles on a lattice in the so-called dynamical mean-field regime (memory effects are neglected). Interactions are local, that is, only among particles at the same lattice site. It is shown that a statistical mechanics analysis that combines detailed balance and Widom's insertion formula allows for the derivation of an expression for transition rates in terms of the excess chemical potential. The rates reproduce the known dependence of self-diffusivity as the inverse of the thermodynamic factor. Soft-core interactions and general forms of the excess chemical potential (linear, quadratic, and cubic with the density) are considered.

Stripe-on-plane-wave phase of a binary dipolar Bose gases with soft-core long-range interactions

Long-range interactions are ubiquitous in nature and are studied in a variety of physical fields. The recent realization of soft-core long-range interaction in ultracold quantum gases broadens the research field of long-range interactions. We consider a binary Bose–Einstein condensate with both long-range dipolar and long-range soft-core interactions. The ground-state phase diagrams of the system have been mapped out in full parameter space accounting for the dipolar and soft-core long-range interactions, as well as the orientation of the dipoles. The results show that the interplay between long-range isotropic and anisotropic interactions results in a variety of ground state phases, such as supersolid, standing wave, and stripe-on-plane-wave phases. In particular, the effects of dipolar and soft-core long-range interaction, together with the orientation of the dipoles, have also been discussed in each ground state phase. The experimental feasibility of the parameters are within the current experimental capacity.

Linear Viscoelasticity of Dumbbells Interacting via Gaussian Soft-Core Potential

In polymer melts, the interaction between segments are considered to be screened and the ideal Gaussian chain statistics is recovered. The experimental fact that linear viscoelasticity of unentangled polymers can be well described by the Rouse model is naively considered as due to this screening effect. Although various theoretical models are based on the screening effect and the screening effect is believed to be reasonable, the screening effect cannot be fully justified on a solid theoretical basis. In this work, we study the screening effect by utilizing a simple dumbbell type model. We perform simulations for dumbbell systems in which particles interact via the Gaussian soft-core potential. We show that, if the density of dumbbells is high, the Gaussian soft-core interaction is actually screened and the static structures are well described by the ideal model without Gaussian soft-core interaction. We also show that the relaxation moduli of interacting dumbbell systems approximately coincide to those of the non-interacting dumbbell systems. In the low density systems, we observe the deviations from the ideal non-interacting systems. For example, the relaxation moduli become relatively broad. However, the relaxation moduli of such systems can be decomposed into the relaxation modes by the Gaussian soft-core interaction and the bond. The bond relaxation mode can be successfully described by a single Maxwell relaxation with effective relaxation strength and time. Our results support a naive use of the Rouse model to analyze unentangled polymer melts.

Nonlinear dynamics of Rydberg-dressed Bose-Einstein condensates in a triple-well potential

We study nonlinear dynamics of Rydberg-dressed Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in a triple-well potential in the semiclassical limit. The Rydberg-dressed BECs experience a long-range soft-core interaction, giving rise to strong nearest and next-nearest neighbor interactions in the triple-well system. Using mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equations, we show that lower branches of the eigenspectra exhibit loops and level-crossings when the soft-core interaction is strong. The direct level-crossings eliminate the possibility of adiabatic Landau-Zener transitions when tilting of the triple-well potential. We demonstrate that the long-range interaction allows for self-trapping in one, two, or three wells, in a far more controllable manor than BECs with short-range or dipolar interactions. Exact quantum simulations of the three-well Bose-Hubbard model indicate that self-trapping and nonadiabatic transition can be observed with less than a dozen bosons. Our study is relevant to current research into collective excitation and nonlinear dynamics of Rydberg-dressed atoms.