Droplet-gas phases and their dynamical formation in particle imbalanced mixtures

Abstract We explore the ground state phase diagram and nonequilibrium dynamics of genuine two-component particle-imbalanced droplets in both isotropic and anisotropic three-dimensional confinements. A gradual transition from mixed droplet-gas to gas configurations is revealed as the average intercomponent attraction decreases or the transverse confinement becomes tighter. Within the mixed structures, a specific majority fragment binds to the minority droplet, satisfying the density ratio locking condition, while the remaining atoms are in a gas state. Our extended Gross–Pitaevskii numerical results are corroborated by a suitable variational approximation capturing the shape and characteristics of droplet-gas fragments. The tunability of the relatively low gas fraction is showcased through parametric variations of the atom number, the intercomponent imbalance, the trap aspect ratio, or the radius of a box potential. To validate the existence and probe the properties of these exotic phases, we simulate the standard time-of-flight and radio frequency experimental techniques. These allow to dynamically identify the resilience of the droplet fragment and the expansion of the gas fraction. Our results, amenable to current experimental cold atom settings, are expected to guide forthcoming investigations aiming to reveal unseen out-of-equilibrium droplet dynamics.