Harmonically trapped imbalanced quantum droplets
T. A. Flynn, N. A. Keepfer, N. G. Parker, T. P. Billam
Abstract
A two-component quantum droplet is an attractive mixture of ultracold bosons stabilized against collapse by quantum fluctuations. Commonly, two-component quantum droplets are studied within a balanced mixture. However, the mixture can be imbalanced resulting in a lower energy but less stably bound droplet, or even a droplet submerged in a gas. This work focuses on the experimentally relevant question: how are imbalanced droplets modified by harmonic trap potentials? Droplet ground states and breathing modes are analyzed across the two-dimensional parameter space of imbalance and trap strength. The robustness of the droplet imbalance is also studied by releasing the droplet from the trap, demonstrating that this can lead to the creation of free-space, imbalanced droplets. Published by the American Physical Society 2024