JLTP: Resonances and Fragmentation through Stirring

Precisely, quantized vortices are known to appear in the bulk of a superfluid subject to external rotation. In this work we study a trapped ultracold Bose gas of N=101 atoms interacting with finite-range potential in two spatial dimensions that is stirred by a rotating beam. We use the multiconfigurational Hartree method for bosons, which goes beyond the mainstream mean-field theory, to calculate the dynamics of the gas in real time. As the gas is rotated, the wavefunction of the system changes symmetry and topology. We see a series of resonances, i.e., peaks in the total energy, as the stirring frequency is increased. Fragmentation and a change of the symmetry of the density of the gas accompany the appearance of these resonances. We conclude that fragmentation of the gas appears hand-in-hand with resonant absorption of energy and angular momentum from the external agent of rotation.