Dynamical Formation of Multiple Quantum Droplets in a Bose-Bose Mixture
We report on the formation of multiple quantum droplets in a heteronuclear ^{41}K-^{87}Rb mixture released in an optical waveguide. By a sudden change of the interspecies interaction from the noninteracting to the strongly attractive regime, we initially form a single droplet in an excited compression-elongation mode. The latter axially expands up to a critical length and then splits into two or more smaller fragments, recognizable as quantum droplets. We find that the number of formed droplets increases with decreasing interspecies attraction and increasing atom number. We show, by combining theory and experiment, that this behavior is consistent with capillary instability, which causes the breakup of the stretching droplet due to the surface tension. Our results open new possibilities to explore the properties of quantum liquids and systems of multiple quantum droplets in two-component bosonic mixtures.
Authors
- M. Modugno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0532-1423)
- F. Minardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6161-8881)
- A. Burchianti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9294-4057)
- C. Fort (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8817-3077)
- Luca Cavicchioli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6443-0363)
- Francesco Ancilotto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7340-1030)
Institutions
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IT)
- National Institute of Optics (IT)
- University of Florence (IT)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-03-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.134.093401
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.22
Funders
- European Commission
- Eusko Jaurlaritza
- Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación