Elena Poli (Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck) gives a webinar on ‘Rotating dipolar quantum gases: supersolids, vortices and glitches’.

Since the first observation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) made from strongly magnetic atoms, these systems have proven to be a rich source of new and fascinating phenomena arising from the long-range and anisotropic dipole-dipole interaction. Recently, these dipolar quantum gases have proven to be a versatile platform in order to observe the long-sought after supersolid phase—a state that simultaneously manifests a crystalline order and superfluid properties. Here, I will present the latest results from our research on ultracold dipolar quantum gas in Innsbruck, with a particular focus on the combined theoretical and experimental effort to understand the rotational properties of these systems in different phases. The presence of quantized vortices—topological defects of the wavefunction characterized by a 2π phase winding—consists of one of the most distinctive manifestations of their superfluid nature. I will report on the theoretical study and experimental observation of quantized vortices in a strongly magnetic gas of dysprosium atoms in both the unmodulated BEC and supersolid phases [1,2]. Finally, I will show an application of rotating dipolar supersolids, i.e. the possibility to simulate “glitches”, instantaneous jumps of the rotation frequency occurring due to the internal vortex dynamics, akin to observations in neutron stars [3].

[1] L. Klaus, T. Bland et al., Nature Physics 18, 1453–1458 (2022).

[2] E. Casotti, E. Poli et al., arXiv:2403.18510 (2024).

[3] E. Poli et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 223401 (2023).