Impurity-induced vortex lattice melting and turbulence in rotating Bose–Einstein condensates

Abstract We numerically investigate the impact of various impurities on rotating Bose–Einstein condensates confined within two-dimensional harmonic and Gaussian distributed square lattice potentials. Without impurities, the rotating condensates display an organized square lattice pattern of vortices due to the influence of Gaussian distributed square lattice potential. The introduction of impurity potentials disrupts this lattice structure, inducing a phase transition from an ordered state to a disordered state. Our analysis encompasses both static and dynamic types of impurities. The static impurities are implemented using a randomly varying potential with a spatially random amplitude. The transformation of the vortex lattice structure, in this case, relies on the strength and lattice constant of the impurity potential. For dynamical impurities, we employ a Gaussian obstacle that orbits around the condensate at a specific distance from its center. In this scenario, the vortex lattice melting occurs beyond a certain threshold radius and frequency of oscillation of the rotating obstacle. We characterize the melting of the vortex lattice due to impurities using various quantities, such as the structure factor and angular momentum. Notably, in the vortex-melted state, the angular momentum follows a power-law dependence with an exponent of approximately 1.73, regardless of the type of impurity. Finally, we demonstrate the signature of the presence of a turbulent state within the vortex-melted state generated by both static and dynamical impurities.