is an emerging interdisciplinary field that seeks new functionality by creating devices and circuits where ultra-cold atoms, often superfluids, play a role analogous to the electrons in electronics. Hysteresis is widely used in electronic circuits, e.g., it is routinely observed in superconducting circuits 3 and is essential in rf-superconducting quantum interference devices [SQUIDs] 4 . Furthermore, hysteresis is as fundamental to superfluidity 5 (and superconductivity) as quantized persistent currents [6][7][8] , critical velocity [9][10][11][12][13][14] , and Josephson effects 15,16 . Nevertheless, in spite of multiple theoretical predictions 5,[17][18][19] , hysteresis has not been previously observed in any superfluid, atomic-gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).Here we demonstrate hysteresis in a quantized atomtronic circuit: a ring of superfluid BEC obstructed by a rotating weak link. We directly detect hysteresis between quantized circulation states, in contrast to superfluid liquid helium experiments that observed hysteresis directly in systems where the quantization of flow could not be observed 20 and indirectly in systems that showed quantized flow 21,22 . Our techniques allow us to tune the size of the hysteresis loop and to consider the fundamental excitations that accompany hysteresis. The 1 arXiv:1402.2958v2 [cond-mat.quant-gas]
We study the dynamics of a supersonically expanding, ring-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate both experimentally and theoretically. The expansion redshifts long-wavelength excitations, as in an expanding universe. After expansion, energy in the radial mode leads to the production of bulk topological excitationssolitons and vortices-driving the production of a large number of azimuthal phonons and, at late times, causing stochastic persistent currents. These complex nonlinear dynamics, fueled by the energy stored coherently in one mode, are reminiscent of a type of "preheating" that may have taken place at the end of inflation.
Weak connections between superconductors or superfluids can differ from classical links due to quantum coherence, which allows flow without resistance. Transport properties through such weak links can be described with a single function, the current-phase relationship, which serves as the quantum analog of the current-voltage relationship. Here, we present a technique for inteferometrically measuring the current-phase relationship of superfluid weak links. We interferometrically measure the phase gradient around a ring-shaped superfluid Bose-Einstein condensate containing a rotating weak link, allowing us to identify the current flowing around the ring. While our Bose-Einstein condensate weak link operates in the hydrodynamic regime, this technique can be extended to all types of weak links (including tunnel junctions) in any phase-coherent quantum gas. Moreover, it can also measure the current-phase relationships of excitations. Such measurements may open new avenues of research in quantum transport.
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