Sub-unity superfluid fraction of a supersolid from self-induced Josephson effect

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Biagioni, Giulio, Antolini, Nicolò, Donelli, Beatrice, Pezzè, Luca, Smerzi, Augusto, Fattori, Marco, Fioretti, Andrea, Gabbanini, Carlo, Inguscio, Massimo, Tanzi, Luca, Modugno, Giovanni
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Biagioni, Giulio
Antolini, Nicolò
Donelli, Beatrice
Pezzè, Luca
Smerzi, Augusto
Fattori, Marco
Fioretti, Andrea
Gabbanini, Carlo
Inguscio, Massimo
Tanzi, Luca
Modugno, Giovanni
author_facet Biagioni, Giulio
Antolini, Nicolò
Donelli, Beatrice
Pezzè, Luca
Smerzi, Augusto
Fattori, Marco
Fioretti, Andrea
Gabbanini, Carlo
Inguscio, Massimo
Tanzi, Luca
Modugno, Giovanni
contents Recently, a new category of superfluids and superconductors has been discovered in various systems. These could be linked to the idea of a supersolid phase, featuring a macroscopic wavefunction with spatial modulation resulting from simultaneous, spontaneous breaking of gauge and translational symmetries. However, this relation has only been recognized in some cases and there is the need for universal properties quantifying the differences between supersolids and ordinary superfluids/superconductors or crystals. A key property is the superfluid fraction, which measures the reduction in superfluid stiffness due to spatial modulation, leading to the non-standard superfluid dynamics of supersolids. Here we employ the Josephson effect, common in superfluids and superconductors, to measure the superfluid fraction in a supersolid. Even without a physical barrier, the Josephson effect arises spontaneously in a supersolid due to spatial modulation. Individual lattice cells act as self-induced Josephson junctions, allowing the direct determination of the local superfluid fraction. We studied a cold-atom dipolar supersolid, revealing a significant sub-unity superfluid fraction. Our results open new research directions, enabling the exploration of novel phenomena like partially quantized vortices and supercurrents, potentially unifying the understanding of supersolid-like systems, and introducing a new type of Josephson junction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_04757
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Sub-unity superfluid fraction of a supersolid from self-induced Josephson effect
Biagioni, Giulio
Antolini, Nicolò
Donelli, Beatrice
Pezzè, Luca
Smerzi, Augusto
Fattori, Marco
Fioretti, Andrea
Gabbanini, Carlo
Inguscio, Massimo
Tanzi, Luca
Modugno, Giovanni
Quantum Gases
Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
Recently, a new category of superfluids and superconductors has been discovered in various systems. These could be linked to the idea of a supersolid phase, featuring a macroscopic wavefunction with spatial modulation resulting from simultaneous, spontaneous breaking of gauge and translational symmetries. However, this relation has only been recognized in some cases and there is the need for universal properties quantifying the differences between supersolids and ordinary superfluids/superconductors or crystals. A key property is the superfluid fraction, which measures the reduction in superfluid stiffness due to spatial modulation, leading to the non-standard superfluid dynamics of supersolids. Here we employ the Josephson effect, common in superfluids and superconductors, to measure the superfluid fraction in a supersolid. Even without a physical barrier, the Josephson effect arises spontaneously in a supersolid due to spatial modulation. Individual lattice cells act as self-induced Josephson junctions, allowing the direct determination of the local superfluid fraction. We studied a cold-atom dipolar supersolid, revealing a significant sub-unity superfluid fraction. Our results open new research directions, enabling the exploration of novel phenomena like partially quantized vortices and supercurrents, potentially unifying the understanding of supersolid-like systems, and introducing a new type of Josephson junction.
title Sub-unity superfluid fraction of a supersolid from self-induced Josephson effect
topic Quantum Gases
Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.04757