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# Maximum And Minimum Dark Matter Detection Cross Sections

## I Calculational Details

In order to get reasonably accurate results, it is necessary to include a number of theoretical corrections in the analysis. We list here the main ones used in the calculations below: (i) In relating the theory at $`M_G`$ to phenomena at the electroweak scale, the two loop gauge and one loop Yukawa renormalization group equations (RGE) are used, iterating to get a consistent SUSY spectrum. (ii) QCD RGE corrections are further included below the SUSY breaking scale for contributions involving light quarks. (iii) A careful analysis of the light Higgs mass $`m_h`$ is necessary (including two loop and pole mass corrections) as the current LEP limits impact sensitively on the relic density analysis for tan$`\beta 5`$. (iv) L-R mixing terms are included in the sfermion (mass)2 matrices since they produce important effects for large tan$`\beta `$ in the third generation. (v) One loop corrections are included to $`m_b`$ and $`m_\tau `$ which are again important for large tan$`\beta `$. (vi) The experimental bounds on the $`bs\gamma `$ decay put significant constraints on the SUSY parameter space and theoretical calculations here include the leading order (LO) and approximate NLO corrections. We have not in the following imposed $`b\tau `$ (or $`tb\tau `$) Yukawa unification or proton decay constraints as these depend sensitively on unknown post-GUT physics. For example, such constraints do not naturally occur in the string models where $`SU(5)`$ (or $`SO(10)`$) gauge symmetry is broken by Wilson lines at $`M_G`$ (even though grand unification of the gauge coupling constants at $`M_G`$ for such string models is still required).

All the above corrections are under theoretical control except for the $`bs\gamma `$ analysis where a full NLO calculations has not been done. (We expect that while the full analysis might modify the regions of parameter space excluded by the $`bs\gamma `$ experimental constraint, the minimum and maximum values of $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ would probably not be significantly changed.) The analysis of $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$, taking into account the above theoretical corrections has now been carried out by several groups obtaing results in general agreement . These results are presented below.

Accelerator bounds significantly limit the SUSY parameter space. In the following we assume the LEP bounds  $`m_h>104(100)`$ GeV for tan$`\beta `$=3(5) and $`m_{\chi _1^\pm }>104(100)`$ GeV. (For tan$`\beta >5`$, the $`m_h`$ bounds do not produce a significant constraint.) For $`bs\gamma `$ we assume an allowed range of $`2\sigma `$ from the CLEO data :

$$1.8\times 10^4B(BX_s\gamma )4.5\times 10^4$$
(4)
The Tevatron gives a bound of $`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}270`$ GeV( for $`m_{\stackrel{~}{q}}m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}`$).

Theory allows one to calculate the $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0`$-quark cross section and we follow the analysis of  to convert this to $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p`$ scattering. For this one needs the $`\pi N`$ $`\sigma `$ term,

$$\sigma _{\pi N}=\frac{1}{2}(m_u+m_d)p|\overline{u}u+\overline{d}d|p,$$
(5)
$`\sigma _0=\sigma _{\pi N}(m_u+m_d)p|\overline{s}s|p`$ and the quark mass ratio $`r=m_s/(1/2)(m_u+m_d)`$. We use here $`\sigma _{\pi N}=65`$MeV, from recent analyses  based on new $`\pi N`$ scattering data, $`\sigma _0=30`$ MeV and r$`=24.4\pm 1.5`$. Older $`\pi N`$ data gave $`\sigma _{\pi N}45`$ GeV , which if used would reduce the overall $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ by a factor of about 3.

## II mSUGRA model

We consider first the mSUGRA model where the most complete analysis has been done. mSUGRA depends on four parameters and one sign: $`m_0`$ (universal scalar mass at $`M_G`$), $`m_{1/2}`$ (universal gaugino mass at $`M_G`$), $`A_0`$ (universal cubic soft breaking mass, tan$`\beta =H_2/H_1`$ (where $`H_{2,1}`$ gives rise to (up, down) quark masses) and $`\mu /|\mu |`$( where $`\mu `$ is the Higgs mixing parameter in the superpotential, $`W_\mu =\mu H_1H_2`$). One conventionally restricts the range of these parameters by “naturalness” conditions and in the following we assume $`m_01`$ TeV, $`m_{1/2}600`$ GeV (corresponding to $`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}1.5`$ TeV, $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}240`$ GeV), $`|A_0/m_0|5`$, and 2$`tan\beta `$ 50. Large tan$`\beta `$ is of interest since SO(10) models imply tan$`\beta 40`$ and also $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ increases with tan$`\beta `$. $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ decreases with $`m_{1/2}`$ for large $`m_{1/2}`$, and thus if one were to increase the bound on $`m_{1/2}`$ to 1 TeV ($`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}2.5`$ TeV), the cross section would drop by a factor of 2-3.

The maximum $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ arise then for large tan$`\beta `$ and small $`m_{1/2}`$. This can be seen in Fig.1 where ($`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$)max is plotted vs. $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}`$ for tan$`\beta `$=20, 30, 40 and 50. Fig. 2 shows $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}h^2`$ for tan$`\beta =30`$ when the cross section takes on its maximum value. Current detectors obeying Eq (1) are then sampling the parameter space for large tan $`\beta `$, small $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}`$ and small $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}h^2`$ i.e

$$tan\beta \stackrel{>}{}25,m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}\stackrel{<}{}90\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V},\mathrm{\Omega }_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}h^2\stackrel{<}{}0.1$$
(6)
To discuss the minimum cross section, it is convenient to consider first $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}\stackrel{<}{}150`$ GeV ($`m_{1/2}350`$) where no coannihilation occurs. The minimum cross section occurs for small tan$`\beta `$. From Fig.3 one sees

$$\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}4\times 10^9\mathrm{pb};m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}\stackrel{<}{}140\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}$$
(7)
which would be accessible to detectors that are currently being planned (e.g. GENIUS).

For larger $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}`$, i.e. $`m_{1/2}\stackrel{>}{}150`$ the phenomena of coannihilation can occur in the relic density analysis since the light stau, $`\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1`$, (and also $`\stackrel{~}{e}_R`$, $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }_R`$) can become degenerate with the $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0`$. The relic density constraint can then be satisfied in narrow corridor of $`m_0`$ of width $`\mathrm{\Delta }m_0\stackrel{<}{}25`$ GeV, the value of $`m_0`$ increasing as $`m_{1/2}`$ increases . Since $`m_0`$ and $`m_{1/2}`$ increase as one progresses up the corridor, $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ will generally decrease.

We consider first the case $`\mu >0`$. One finds in general that $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ also decreases as $`A_0`$ increases. Fig.4 shows $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ in the domain of large $`A_0`$ and for two values of tan$`\beta `$. One sees that the smaller tan$`\beta `$ still gives the lower cross section, though the difference is mostly neutralized at larger $`m_{1/2}`$. (For large tan$`\beta `$, $`m_0`$ also becomes large to satisfy the relic density constraint i.e $`m_0700`$ GeV for tan$`\beta `$=40, $`m_{1/2}=600`$ GeV.) We have in general for this regime

$$\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}1\times 10^9\mathrm{pb};\mathrm{for}m_{1/2}600\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V},\mu >0,A_04m_{1/2}.$$
(8)
This is still within the sensitivity range of proposed detectors.

When $`\mu `$ is negative an “accidental” cancellation can occur in part of the parameter space in the coannihilation region which can greatly reduce $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ . This can be seen in Fig.5, where starting with small tan$`\beta `$ the cross section decreases, leading to a minimum at about tan$`\beta `$=10, and then increases again for larger tan$`\beta `$. At the minimum one has $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}1\times 10^{12}`$ for tan$`\beta `$=10 and $`m_{1/2}=600`$ GeV. More generally one has

$$\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}<1\times 10^{10}\mathrm{pb}$$
(9)
for the parameter domain when $`4\stackrel{<}{}\mathrm{tan}\beta \stackrel{<}{}20`$, $`m_{1/2}\stackrel{>}{}450\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}(m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}\stackrel{>}{}1.1\mathrm{TeV})`$, $`\mu <0`$. In this domain, $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ would not be accessible to any of the currently planned detectors. However, mSUGRA also then predicts that this could happen only when the gluino and squarks have masses greater than 1 TeV (and for only a restricted region of tan$`\beta `$) a result that could be verified at the LHC.

## III Nonuniversal SUGRA Models

In the discussion of SUGRA models with nonuniversal soft breaking, universality for the first two generations of squark and slepton masses at $`M_G`$ is usually maintained to suppress flavor changing neutral currents. One allows, however, the Higgs and third generation squark and slepton masses to become nonuniversal. The masses may then be parametrized at $`M_G`$ as follows:

$`m_{H_1}^{2}`$ $`=`$ $`m_0^2(1+\delta _1);m_{H_2}^{2}=m_0^2(1+\delta _2);`$ (10)
$`m_{q_L}^{2}`$ $`=`$ $`m_0^2(1+\delta _3);m_{t_R}^{2}=m_0^2(1+\delta _4);m_{\tau _R}^{2}=m_0^2(1+\delta _5);`$ (11)
$`m_{b_R}^{2}`$ $`=`$ $`m_0^2(1+\delta _6);m_{l_L}^{2}=m_0^2(1+\delta _7).`$ (12)
where $`q_L(t_L,b_L)`$, $`l_L(\nu _\tau ,\tau _L)`$. Here $`m_0`$ is the universal mass of the first two generations and $`\delta _i`$ are the Higgs and third generation deviations from universality. In the following we will restrict the $`\delta _i`$ to obey

$$1\delta _i1.$$
(13)
The lower limit on $`\delta _i`$ is necessary to prevent tachyonic behavior, and the condition $`\delta _i1`$ is taken as a reasonable upper bound. We also maintain gauge and gaugino mass unification at $`M_G`$.

While these models contain a large number of new parameters, their effects on $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ can be charcterized approximately by the signs of $`\delta _1\mathrm{}\delta _4`$. Thus the choice of $`\delta _3,\delta _4,\delta _1<0`$ and $`\delta _2>0`$ can greatly increase $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$, and the reverse choice can reduce $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ ( though by a much lesser amount). The possible increase is shown in Fig.6 for tan$`\beta =7`$, $`\mu >0`$ where nonuniversal soft breaking increases $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ by a factor of 10-100 compared to the universal case. Thus it is possible for detectors to probe regions of smaller tan$`\beta `$ with nonuniversal breaking, and detectors obeying Eq. (1) can probe part of the parameter space for tan$`\beta `$ as low as $`tan\beta 4`$.

The minimum cross section occurs (as in mSUGRA) at the lowest tan$`\beta `$ and at the largest $`m_{1/2}`$ i.e. in the coannihilation region. We limit ourselves here to the case where only the Higgs masses are nonuniversal i.e. $`\delta _{1,2}0`$. One finds then results similar to mSUGRA i.e. $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}10^9`$ pb for $`\mu >0`$, $`m_{1/2}`$ 600 GeV. For $`\mu <0`$, there can again be a cancellation of matrix elements reducing the cross section to $`10^{12}`$ pb when $`m_{1/2}=600`$ GeV in a restricted part of the parameter space when tan$`\beta `$10.

## IV D-brane models

Recent advances in string theory have stimulated again the construction of string inspired phenomenologically viable models. One type, based on type IIB orientifolds  puts the Standard Model on sets of 5 branes. These models are of interest in that they can lead to a pattern of soft breaking different from what can naturally arise in conventional supergravity GUTs. An interesting example has the following soft breaking pattern at $`M_G`$:

$`\stackrel{~}{m}_1`$ $`=`$ $`\stackrel{~}{m}_3=A_0=\sqrt{3}cos\theta _b\mathrm{\Theta }_1e^{i\alpha _1}m_{3/2}`$ (14)
$`\stackrel{~}{m}_2`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{3}cos\theta _b(1\mathrm{\Theta }_1^2)^{1/2}m_{3/2}`$ (15)
where and $`\stackrel{~}{m}_i`$ are the gaugino masses, and

$`m_{12}^2`$ $`=`$ $`(13/2sin^2\theta _b)m_{3/2}^2\mathrm{for}q_L,l_L,H_1,H_2`$ (16)
$`m_1^2`$ $`=`$ $`(13sin^2\theta _b)m_{3/2}^2\mathrm{for}u_R,d_R,e_R.`$ (17)
Thus the $`SU(2)`$ doublets are all degenerate at $`M_G`$ but different from the singlets. We note Eq. (13) implies $`\theta _b<`$0.615.

We consider first the case with no CP violating phases in the soft breaking sector, i.e. $`\alpha _1`$=0 and the $`\mu `$ parameter real. In general $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ is a decreasing function of $`\theta _b`$ since the squark and slepton masses increase as $`\theta _b`$ decreases. This is illustrated in Fig. 7 where $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ is plotted for tan$`\beta `$=10, $`m_{3/2}=175`$ GeV with $`\theta _b=0.5`$ (upper curve) and $`\theta _b=0.2`$ (lower curve). One has that current detectors obeying Eq. (1) are sensitive to the model in the domain when tan$`\beta \stackrel{>}{}15`$. However $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}`$ is quite small when tan$`\beta `$ is close to the minimum value.

The lower bound on $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ should occur when $`\theta _b`$ and tan$`\beta `$ are small. Fig. 8 shows the minimum cross section for $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}300`$ GeV, $`\mu >0`$. One sees $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}10^9`$ pb. As in mSUGRA, a cancellation of matrix elements can occur for $`\mu <0`$, allowing a smaller cross section in the domain $`7\stackrel{<}{}`$tan$`\beta \stackrel{<}{}30`$ and reaching a minimum of $`10^{12}`$ pb for $`m_{3/2}=600`$ GeV at tan$`\beta 12`$. These low cross sections again imply very heavy gluinos i.e $`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}\stackrel{>}{}950`$ GeV. The D-brane model also possesses an interesting new region of coannihilation for $`\mathrm{\Theta }_10.8`$ when the light chargino $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^\pm `$ can become degenerate with $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0`$, which has not been analyzed here.

CP violating phases produce contributions to the electric dipole moments of the electron $`d_e`$, and neutron $`d_n`$. The bound on $`d_e`$ is $`d_e<4.3\times 10^{27}`$ ecm at 95 $`\%`$ C.L., and one must constrain the parameter space to satisfy this. This generally reduces $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ by a factor of 2-3. However models with CP violating phases require a great deal of fine tuning unless tan$`\beta `$ 3-5, so one would expect in this case $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ to be quite small.

## V Summary

We have examined here the neutralino-proton cross section for a number of SUGRA type models. In all the models considered, there are regions of parameter space with $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p`$ cross sections of the size that could be observed with current detectors. Thus with the sensitivity of Eq. (1), detectors would be sampling regions of the parameter space for mSUGRA where tan$`\beta \stackrel{>}{}25`$, $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}\stackrel{<}{}90\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}h^2\stackrel{<}{}0.1`$. Nonuniversal models can have larger cross sections and so detectors could sample down to tan$`\beta \stackrel{>}{}4`$, while for the D-brane models considered, detectors could sample down to tan$`\beta \stackrel{>}{}15`$.

The minimum cross sections these models predict are considerably below current sensitivity. Thus for mSUGRA one finds for $`\mu >0`$

$$\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}1\times 10^9\mathrm{pb}\mathrm{for}m_{1/2}600\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V},\mu >0.$$
(18)
where $`m_{1/2}=600`$ GeV corresponds to $`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}1.5`$ TeV, $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0}240`$ TeV. This is still in the range that would be accessible to detectors being planned (such as GENIUS or Cryoarray). For $`\mu <0`$, a cancellation can occur in certain regions of parameter space allowing the cross sections to fall below Eq. (14), Thus

$$\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}<1\times 10^{10}\mathrm{pb}\mathrm{for}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4}\stackrel{<}{}\mathrm{tan}\beta \stackrel{<}{}20,\mu <0,m_{1/2}\stackrel{>}{}450\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}$$
(19)
and reaching a minimum of $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}1\times 10^{12}`$ pb for tan$`\beta `$=10, $`m_{1/2}`$=600 GeV, $`\mu <0`$. This domain would appear not to be accessible to future planned detectors. Since $`m_{1/2}`$=450 GeV corresponds to $`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}1.1`$ TeV, this region of parameter space would imply a gluino squark spectrum at the LHC above 1 TeV.

The above results holds for the mSUGRA model. While a full analysis of coannihilation has not been carried out for the nonuniversal and D-brane models, results similar to the above hold for these over large regions of parameter space. Thus for nonuniversal Higgs masses and for the D-brane model one finds $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}\stackrel{>}{}10^9`$ pb for $`\mu >0`$, while a cancellelation allows $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ to fall to $`10^{12}`$ pb for $`\mu <0`$ at tan$`\beta 10`$ (with again a gluino/squark mass spectrum in the TeV domain).

In the above we have limited $`m_{1/2}`$ to $`m_{1/2}600`$ GeV ($`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}1.5`$ TeV). Increasing $`m_{1/2}`$ lowers the cross section. Thus allowing $`m_{1/2}=1`$ TeV ($`m_{\stackrel{~}{g}}2.5`$ TeV) would reduce the minimum cross section by a factor of about 2-3. Also using the earlier value of $`\sigma _{\pi N}=45`$ MeV  rather than the most recent value $`\sigma _{\pi N}=65`$ MeV  would reduce $`\sigma _{\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0p}`$ by a factor of 3.


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# Critical Currents and Vortex States at Fractional Matching Fields in Superconductors with Periodic Pinning

## I Introduction

Vortex lattices interacting with quenched disorder represent an ideal system in which to study various static and dynamic phases of elastic lattices in disordered media, which can be found in a large class of condensed matter systems. Pinning of vortices is also of practical importance since superconductors are required to maintain high critical currents for various potential technological applications. There have been considerable efforts to enhance the pinning properties of vortices in superconductors by introducing point, columnar, and splay defects using electron, proton and heavy ion irradiation . A particularly promising technique has been to lithographically create nano-structured periodic defect arrays. Experiments with arrays of holes  and magnetic dots , as well as theory  and numerical simulations , have shown that a variety of commensurability effects occur when the density of vortices equals an integer multiple of the density of pinning sites such that a well ordered vortex crystal can be stabilized and pinned. Several experiments have provided evidence that for small pinning sites, beyond the first matching field, a portion of the vortices will sit at the interstitial regions between the pinning sites .

Besides matching effects at integer filling fractions, commensurability effects at non-integer and sub-matching fields have also been observed directly with Lorentz microscopy  and indirectly with magnetization and transport measurements . Experiments by Metlushko et al. observed sub-matching effects down to $`1/16`$ filling fractions . These same experiments did not show any particular fractional matching for $`B/B_\varphi >1.0`$. In other experiments, fractional matching has been seen at filling fractions of $`3/2`$ and $`5/2`$ . These fractional matching effects are generally less pronounced than those of the integer matching fields.

Recent scanning-Hall probe measurements have also directly imaged vortex configurations at various sub-matching fields . These measurements find that some configurations are only partially ordered while others, including the integer matching fields, are almost completely ordered. Experiments by Field et al., who image up to 5,000 vortices, have found that at the 1/2 matching field very large regions of ordered vortex checkerboard states can be observed with well defined domain walls separating different orientations . At other fields, such as $`1/3`$, only domains of diagonally ordered regions are observed, while at $`1/4`$, $`2/5`$, and $`1/5`$ even smaller regions of order are observed.

Previous simulations of vortices interacting with periodic pinning arrays have focused on vortex matching at integer matching fields and have found that different types of vortex crystals can be stabilized at different matching fields in agreement with experiments . The case of vortex matching at fractional fields for square and triangular pinning arrays has not been addressed. Although commensurate vortex configurations in Josephson-junction arrays  and repulsive particles on lattices  at fractional fillings have been studied, these models do not allow the vortices to sit at interstitial regions between the pinning sites as is possible in experiments with periodic pinning, magnetic dot, or hole arrays. For $`B/B_\varphi >1`$ it is clear that interstitial pinning of vortices is possible. In this work we show that for certain pinning strengths and commensurabilities it is possible for a portion of the vortices to be positioned at interstitial sites even for $`B/B_\varphi <1`$, so that the vortices form a type of ordering that would be absent for vortices in wire networks and Josephson-junction arrays. Further, the dynamic phases are also strongly affected by the fact that vortex flow can occur through the interstitial regions.

For random pinning sites, theory , simulations  and experiments  find that an initially pinned disordered vortex lattice can first flow plastically and then undergo a dynamic transition from a disordered structure to an ordered moving vortex lattice which can be a moving Bragg glass or moving smectic phase. The vortices in the strongly driven phase flow in well defined channels and a transverse depinning threshold can be present . Similarly, in simulations with periodic pinning where the vortex density exceeds the pinning density, $`B/B_\varphi >1`$, distinct kinds of plastic flow and large transverse barriers may exist . Simulations of Josephson-junction arrays have also found plastic and elastic vortex flow phases and transverse depinning transitions .

The dynamics of vortices in periodic pinning arrays with $`B/B_\varphi <1`$ has not previously been studied. For this case, some of the open questions are (i) whether the vortex configurations in the pinned state are the same as the moving vortex configuration; (ii) how this depends on the filling fraction; and (iii) whether there can be plastic flow and how it depends on commensurability. Unlike systems with random pinning, where the disorder comes from the quenched substrate, the disorder in vortex systems with periodic pinning comes about from the vortex-vortex interactions with the incommensurate fields forming a disordered vortex lattice. At the commensurate fields, where the vortex lattice is ordered, plastic flow may be absent even though the vortex lattice is very strongly pinned. At strong driving forces it may be interesting to see if the incommensurate vortex lattice can reorder to a moving crystal phase in a similar manner as observed in systems with random pinning. It may also be interesting to compare commensurate and incommensurate fields in strongly driven phases to see whether the vortex flow occurs in 1D channels and if the flow is between or along the pinning rows. It may further be valuable to correlate the microscopics of the static and dynamical phases to macroscopic observables, such as critical currents, current-voltage characteristics, and magnetization.

In this work we examine the vortex configurations and dynamics for square and triangular pinning arrays in 2D superconductors with logarithmically interacting vortices using molecular dynamics simulations of pancake vortices. For the square pinning array we find a series of sub-matching effects that can be seen as peaks in the critical depinning force. The vortex configurations at these fields agree well with those seen in recent imaging experiments . Certain sub-matching fields, such as $`1/3`$ are not completely ordered, but are broken up into domains as also observed in experiments . Vortex ordering at $`1/3`$ filling depends on the pinning strength with stronger pinning producing a partially diagonally ordered arrangement. For weak disorder at $`1/3`$ filling we observe a vortex ordering in which certain vortices sit in the interstitial regions between the pinning sites so that the overall vortex lattice has a near triangular ordering. We also find that the critical depinning force increases linearly with pinning force strength at the commensurate fields while for low pinning strengths the incommensurate field shows a nonlinear (sub-linear) increase due to vortex-vortex interactions which crosses over to a linear increase.

We find that at $`B/B_\varphi =1,1/2`$, and $`1/4`$, where the vortex lattice is ordered, the depinning process and subsequent flow is elastic with the moving vortex lattice having the same symmetry as the pinned lattice. For fields near strong commensurability, and for $`B/B_\varphi >1`$, we observe a two-stage depinning process where vacancies or interstitial defects in the commensurate vortex crystal depin first, as can be seen in velocity versus driving force curves that are equivalent to experimental $`V(I)`$ curves.

At the incommensurate fields, for $`B/B_\varphi >0.35`$, the vortex lattice depins plastically with only a portion of the vortices moving and the vortex motion occurring in winding paths in both the $`x`$ and $`y`$ directions. For these fields (vortex densities) at strong drives we observe reordering to an elastic distorted triangular moving lattice where the vortices move in 1D channels along the pinning rows. For $`B/B_\varphi <0.35`$ the initial depinning is still plastic but is followed by a transition to a channel flow phase where the vortices move in 1D channels along the pinning rows. In contrast to what occurs at higher fields, the individual 1D channels at lower fields contain different numbers of vortices, and the moving vortex lattice retains considerable positional disorder. These reordered phases are only stable in the strongly driven limit and we do not observe any hysteresis in the $`V(I)`$ curves or vortex lattice order for either field range.

For triangular pinning arrays we find a different set of matching filling fractions than those found for square pinning. The effective pinning of the lattice is enhanced and an ordered vortex lattice appears at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`6/7`$, $`2/3`$, $`1/3`$, $`1/4`$, $`1/6`$, and $`1/7`$. Further, there is no peak in the critical depinning force at $`1/2`$. For strong pinning the vortex lattice at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ is disordered and all the vortices are located at pinning sites, while for weak disorder the vortex lattice at $`1/2`$ has a square ordering in which half of the vortices are located at the interstitial regions. For weak pinning the commensurability peaks in the critical depinning force are enhanced and an additional peak at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ is observed. For both strong and weak pinning the moving vortex lattice at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ is square. For the triangular pinning array we do not find any matching effects for $`B/B_\varphi >1`$ which is due to the fact that the interactions with interstitial vortices cause a certain portion of the pinning sites to be left unoccupied. We observe $`V(I)`$ characteristics and moving phases similar to the ones found in the square pinning array.

## II Simulation

We model logarithmically interacting pancake vortices in a 2D superconductor interacting with square and triangular pinning arrays. The overdamped equation of motion for a vortex $`i`$ is

$$𝐟_i=\frac{d𝐫_i}{dt}=𝐟_i^{vv}+𝐟_i^{vp}+𝐟_d=𝐯_i.$$
(1)
The vortex-vortex interaction potential is $`U_v=\mathrm{ln}(r)`$. The total force force on vortex $`i`$ from the other vortices is $`f_i^{vv}=_{ji}^{N_v}_iU_v(r_{ij})`$. We impose periodic boundary conditions and evaluate the periodic long-range logarithmic interaction with an exact sum . Pinning is modeled as attractive parabolic wells of radius $`r_p`$,

$$f_i^{vp}=\underset{k=1}{\overset{N_p}{}}(f_p/r_p)(𝐫_i𝐫_k^{(p)})\mathrm{\Theta }((r_p|𝐫_i𝐫_k^{(p)}|)/\lambda )$$
(2)
Here, we measure distance in units of the penetration depth $`\lambda `$, $`𝐫_k^{(p)}`$ is the location of pinning site $`k`$, $`f_p`$ is the maximum pinning force, and $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is the Heaviside step function The pinning is placed in a square or triangular array. The initial vortex positions are obtained by annealing from a high temperature configuration, with the vortices in a molten state, and slowly cooling to $`T=0`$. This is intended to mimic field cooled experiments performed in . We reduce the initial temperature to zero in twenty steps and remain at each step for $`1.5\times 10^5`$ MD steps, each being $`dt=0.01`$ in normalized units. The vortex configurations are insensitive to the waiting time for waiting times greater than $`5\times 10^4`$. We note that the true ground states may only be attainable for prohibitively long waiting times; however, the agreement between our results and experiments is encouraging.

After the vortex configurations are obtained, the critical depinning force is determined by applying a slowly increasing, spatially uniform driving force, $`f_d`$, which would correspond to a Lorentz force from an applied current. For each drive increment we measure the average vortex velocity in the direction of drive, $`V_x=_i^{N_v}\widehat{𝐱}𝐯_i`$. The force, $`f_d`$, versus velocity, $`V_x`$, curve corresponds experimentally to a voltage-current, $`V(I)`$, curve. The depinning force is defined to be the force value at which $`V_x`$ reaches a value of $`0.03`$ times the ohmic (linear) response.

## III Fractional Matching For Square Pinning Array

In Fig. 1(a,b) we show the critical depinning force, $`f_p^c`$, versus the vortex density for a system with a pinning density of $`n_p=1.36/\lambda ^2`$, $`f_p=0.9f_0`$, and $`r_p=0.3\lambda `$. In Fig. 1(a) we show $`f_p^c`$ for magnetic fields up to $`B/B_\varphi =2.25`$, illustrating the matching effects at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$ and $`2`$ as well as clear matching effects at $`1/2`$ and $`1/4`$. Figure 1(b) displays $`f_{dp}^c`$ for $`B/B_\varphi <0.6`$, where additional sub-matching peaks are visible at $`1/3`$, $`1/6`$, $`1/5`$, and $`1/8`$, with the $`1/3`$ matching field being the largest of these. We do not observe any particular matching at $`2/3`$ or $`4/5`$. Figure 2(a) shows the vortex positions (black circles) and pinning sites (open circles) for $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, where the vortices form a square lattice with the pinning sites. In Fig. 2(b), we show the vortex configuration at an incommensurate field, $`B/B_\varphi =0.64`$, where a peak in the critical depinning force is absent. Here, no apparent ordering in the vortex lattice can be observed. We also find that the vortex lattice is in general disordered at the other incommensurate fields. In Fig. 2(c), for $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$, the vortices form an ordered checkerboard state of a single domain. This state was also observed in imaging experiments on vortices in superconductors  as well as of vortices in wire networks . In the experiments by Field et al. , domains of two different orientations of the checkerboard state are found at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ where the domains of a single orientation are very large. It is unclear whether these domain structures in experiments result from some disorder at the pinning sites or are an intrinsic part of the vortex configurations as suggested by simulations of Josephson-junction arrays . We have conducted larger simulations on systems with up to 392 vortices at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$; however, we have found only single domains of vortices. In Fig. 2(d) the $`B/B_\varphi =1/3`$ state is shown. Here the vortex configuration is not completely ordered; however, the vortices are generally positioned in diagonal stripes running along $`\pm 45^{}`$ separated by two empty diagonal stripes. This state looks almost identical to the results found in experiments . Completely ordered states at the $`1/3`$ filling have been predicted for repulsive particles on a square lattice as well as vortices in square networks . The disorder in our system may come from having too short of an annealing time. We have tested annealing times from $`2.5\times 10^5`$ to $`5\times 10^6`$ normalized time units for $`B/B_\varphi =1/3`$ and have not found any appreciable differences in the vortex configurations; neither have we found noticeable system size effects. We find that for weaker pinning, the diagonal ordering becomes less prominent as some vortices begin to sit in the interstitial regions suggesting that, for our simulations and possibly for the experiments, the vortex-vortex interaction, which tends to make the vortex lattice triangular, causes the disorder. In subsection B we show more explicitly the role of the pinning strength on the vortex lattice ordering at the $`1/3`$ matching field.

In Fig. 2(e) at $`B/B_\varphi =1/4`$ the vortices form an ordered lattice with vortices occupying every other pinning site in every other row. In Fig. 2(f) we show the vortex lattice ordering at $`1/5`$ which shows only regions of the square lattice ordering such as observed in the upper right area of Fig. 2(e). A similar ordering was observed in .

### A $`V(I)`$ Characteristics

We show, in Fig. 3(a), a series of $`V(I)`$ curves for $`B/B_\varphi =0.98`$, $`1`$, $`1.05`$, and $`1.2`$. The $`V(I)`$ curve shows a single jump at the matching field. This is due to all the vortices depinning simultaneously. For $`B/B_\varphi =0.98`$ we observe a two-stage depinning process with initial depinning due to the onset of vacancy motion in the $`B/B_\varphi =1`$ commensurate vortex lattice, followed by depinning of the vortices at the pinning sites which is associated with the second jump in the vortex velocities. At $`B/B_\varphi =1.05`$ the $`V(I)`$ curves look similar to those obtained in previous simulations for vortices in bulk superconductors . Here the pinned phase is considerably reduced compared to the $`1/1`$ filling, and a two stage depinning process can be seen. The initial response is due to depinning of the interstitial vortices, and the second larger jump occurs when all the vortices begin to move. The additional jumps in the vortex velocities are due to transitions between different plastic flow phases which are discussed in more detail in Ref. . For $`B/B_\varphi =1.2`$ the two stage depinning features are still present and in general, for all $`B/B_\varphi >1`$, we observe the two depinning thresholds.

In Fig. 3(b) we show velocity versus driving force for $`B/B_\varphi =0.525`$, $`0.5`$, and $`0.485`$. At $`1/2`$ there is a single jump in $`V_x`$ while at $`0.525`$ and $`0.485`$ the depinning transition occurs in two steps as seen in the initial jump in the $`V(I)`$ followed by another larger jump. We find that two stage depinning occurs just above or below the matching fields where two distinct species of vortices exist: the vortices forming the commensurate structure at the matching fields, and the vacancies or interstitial vortices in the commensurate vortex structure. These vacancies and interstitials will have well defined depinning thresholds lower than those of the vortices forming the commensurate structure. For increasing or decreasing vortex density, relative to the $`1/2`$ matching field, the overall vortex structure can change and the distinction between the two species of vortices is lost. In this case the two stage depinning transition disappears as seen in the $`V(I)`$ curves in Fig. 3(c) for $`B/B_\varphi =0.3`$ and $`0.41`$. Here the two-stage depinning process is clearly absent.

### B Dependence of Vortex Configurations on Pinning Strength

We have carried out a series of simulations at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`1/2`$, $`1/3`$, and $`0.43`$ with $`f_p`$ ranging from $`0.1f_0`$ to $`2.0f_0`$. The vortex configurations at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$ and $`1/2`$, as seen in Fig. 1(a,b), are stable for all values of $`f_p`$ we have examined. In principle, even at these fillings, for small pinning strength, the elastic interactions of the vortex lattice will dominate, and consequently the lattice will be triangular.

For $`B=1/3`$ and for $`f_p>0.6f_0`$ the vortex configuration is the partially disordered phase with alternating diagonal rows filled as seen in Fig. 2(d). For weaker $`f_p`$ a portion of the vortices become located in the interstitial regions between the pinning sites. In Fig. 4(a) we show the vortices and the pinning sites and in Fig. 4(b) we show the vortices only for $`f_p<0.5f_0`$ where we observe an ordering when the vortex-vortex interaction is strong enough to induce triangular ordering; however, the vortex lattice can still take advantage of the periodicity of the pinning sites by allowing every other vortex to be pinned. In the ordered vortex lattice of Fig. 4(a), vortices fill every third pinning site in every other pinning row, while in the adjacent rows the vortices are not located in the pinning sites but instead are positioned in every third interstitial location. This produces a more triangular ordering in the vortex lattice which is easier to see in Fig. 4(b). As the pinning strength, $`f_p`$, is reduced for $`B/B_\varphi =0.43`$, we observe some vortices sitting at interstitial positions; however, we only observe regions of triangular ordering for the weakest pinning strength.

In Fig. 5 we plot the critical depinning force, $`f_p^c`$, versus pinning strength, $`f_p`$, for $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ and $`0.43`$. Here, $`f_p^c`$ increases linearly with $`f_p`$ for the entire range of values considered, indicating that the vortices are in the single vortex pinning regime. Since the pinned vortex lattice is symmetric, this can be understood by realizing that the vortex-vortex interactions cancel and the depinning threshold will therefore be the pinning force strength, $`f_p`$. For $`B/B_\varphi =0.43`$ the critical depinning force increases in a non linear fashion for low $`f_p`$ and then becomes linear for high $`f_p`$. At $`B/B_\varphi =0.43`$ the vortex lattice is disordered and the vortex-vortex interactions do not cancel, resulting in $`f_p^c`$ always being less than $`f_p`$. The critical depinning force for $`B/B_\varphi =0.43`$ is always less than that of $`1/2`$ filling with the maximum difference occurring near $`f_p=0.3`$.

## IV Moving Vortex States For Square Pinning Array

Figure 6 shows the vortex positions, pinning sites, and trajectories for the strongly driven vortex lattice for $`B/B_\varphi =1`$ \[Fig. 6(a,b)\] and $`1/2`$ \[Fig. 6(c,d)\]. Here we show that the moving vortex structures are the same as the pinned vortex structures seen in Fig. 2. The depinning at $`1/1`$, $`1/2`$, and $`1/4`$ filling fractions occurs elastically with vortices retaining the same neighbors they had at depinning. The vortices are also seen to flow in 1D channels along the pinning sites.

For incommensurate fields, $`B/B_\varphi >0.35`$, the initial depinning is plastic with vortices wandering in both the $`x`$ and $`y`$ directions. A transition to an ordered moving vortex lattice is found at higher drives. In Fig. 7 we show the vortex flow patterns for increasing driving force at $`B/B_\varphi =0.64`$. Just above depinning at $`f_d=0.805`$ \[Fig. 7(a)\], the vortex flow is plastic with the vortices wandering in both the $`x`$ and $`y`$ directions. For stronger drives, $`f_d/f_0=0.85`$ \[Fig. 7(b)\], the vortices begin to flow in 1D channels along the pinning sites; however, there is still considerable hopping from one channel to the next. For $`f_d/f_0=0.9`$ \[Fig. 7(c)\], the vortex lattice is almost completely reordered with only occasional vortex jumps between adjacent channels. For $`f_d=1.0`$ \[Fig. 7(d)\], the vortex lattice is completely reordered and the vortices flow in strict 1D channels along the pinning sites. In Fig. 8 we show the vortex positions for $`f_d/f_0=0.805`$ \[Fig. 8(a)\], where the vortex lattice is clearly disordered, and $`f_d/f_0=1.0`$ \[Fig. 8(b)\], where the vortex lattice has a defect-free distorted square ordering. The reordered vortex lattice can be frozen into the zero drive state by abruptly shutting off the driving; however, if the drive is slowly decreased the vortex lattice will re-enter the plastic flow phase and disorder so no hysteresis is observed in the $`V(I)`$ curves.

For $`B/B_\varphi <0.35`$ we find that the moving vortex lattice does not completely reorder. In Fig. 9(a) we show the vortex positions, pinning sites, and trajectories for $`B/B_\varphi =0.28`$ which indicate that the vortices are flowing elastically in 1D channels along the pinning rows, but the number of vortices can differ from channel to channel. In Fig. 9(b) the moving vortex lattice can be seen to retain a considerable amount of disorder. We have found that for weaker pinning the field at which the vortices can completely reorder is reduced below $`B/B_\varphi =0.35`$.

## V Fractional Vortex Matching and Dynamics For Triangular Pinning Arrays

In Fig. 10 we show the critical depinning force versus field for a system with triangular pinning. Matching effects can be seen at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`6/7`$, $`2/3`$, $`1/3`$, $`1/4`$, and $`1/7`$. No depinning peak is seen for the $`1/2`$ matching nor for $`B/B_\varphi >1`$. In Fig. 11(a) we show the matching fields at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, where all the vortices are pinned forming a triangular lattice. In Fig. 11(b), for $`B/B_\varphi =2/3`$, we find a honeycomb vortex lattice with vacancies forming a triangular lattice, which is the same as the vortex lattice configuration at the $`1/3`$ matching field \[Fig. 11(d)\]. In Fig. 11(c), at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$, no particular vortex lattice ordering is observable. In Fig. 11(e), for $`B/B_\varphi =1/3`$, the vortices form a triangular sublattice. In Fig. 11(f), at $`B/B_\varphi =1/4`$, the vortices again form a triangular lattice while in Fig. 11(e), at $`B/B_\varphi =1/7`$, the overall vortex lattice is mostly triangular with some defects. The vortex lattice configuration at $`B/B_\varphi =1/7`$ (not shown) has a triangular configuration with a vacancy lattice the same as the vortex lattice in Fig. 11(e).

### A Vortex Pinning and Ordering for Weaker Pinning Strength

As was shown in Fig. 11(c), the vortex configuration at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ is disordered. In Fig. 12(a) we show that, for a weaker pinning strength of $`f_p/f_0=0.3`$, an ordered state, in which half of the vortices are located in the interstitial regions between the pinning sites and the other half are located at the pinning sites, is possible for $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$. This gives the overall vortex lattice a square symmetry which is evident in Fig. 12(b).

In Fig. 13 we show $`f_p^c`$ versus vortex density for $`f_p/f_0=0.3`$ for a more limited field range of $`0<B/B_\varphi <0.6`$. Here $`f_p^c`$ is considerably reduced from that of $`f_p/f_0=0.9`$; however, the commensurability peaks are stronger with a larger difference between the commensurate peaks and the incommensurate regions. In addition to finding the same commensurability peaks observed at $`B/B_\varphi =1/3`$, $`1/4`$, and $`1/7`$, we now clearly observe peaks at $`1/6`$, $`1/9`$, and $`1/2`$. Most experiments in periodic pinning arrays have found that commensurability effects are strongest very near $`T_c`$ where the pinning is the weakest. For decreasing temperature, the overall pinning increases, but the clear matching anomalies gradually vanish. One possibility (in the experiments) is that the bulk pinning becomes relevant for lower $`T`$; however, experiments without dots or holes, for the same temperature regions, find that the critical current is much lower than in the system with the pinning arrays, indicating the strong pinning is coming from the dots or holes. Our simulations suggest that the increasing pinning force of the dots alone can wash out the matching anomalies even in the absence of bulk pinning. Figure 8 shows that the relative difference between the $`f_p^c`$ for a commensurate and incommensurate fields is maximum for low $`f_p`$ and is constant for higher $`f_p`$. The relative height of the commensurate peak can be expressed as

$$\delta f_p^c=\frac{(f_p^c(\mathrm{com})f_p^c(\mathrm{incom}))}{f_p^c(\mathrm{incom})}=\frac{d_c^p}{f_p^c(\mathrm{incom})}.$$

For large $`f_p`$, $`d_c^p`$ will be constant and $`f_p^c(\mathrm{incom})f_p`$ so $`\delta f_p^c`$ will decrease as $`1/f_p`$.

The peak at $`1/2`$ occurs due to the formation of the ordered vortex lattice as seen in Fig. 12. An experimental test for the presence of this phase would be the appearance of an anomaly at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$ in a triangular pinning array as $`T`$ approaches $`T_c`$.

### B Vortex Ordering for $`1<B/B_\varphi <1.5`$

In Fig. 14 we show the vortex configuration and pinning sites at $`B/B_\varphi =4/3`$, where it might be expected that the interstitial vortex lattice will resemble the vortex configuration at the $`B/B_\varphi =1/3`$ matching field. Fig. 14 shows that a number of pinning sites are actually unoccupied with two vortices sitting adjacent to the pinning sites and caged in by six adjacent vortices. This indicates that placing an interstitial vortex between two vortices at the pinning sites is costly enough to depin one of the vortices. These types of defects disrupt any kind of overall interstitial vortex lattice ordering so that higher field fractional matching effects cannot be observed. For stronger pinning sites all the pinning sites will be occupied so fractional matching may be possible.

The general $`V(I)`$ characteristics are similar to those found in the square pinning arrays with a two step depinning process for $`B/B_\varphi >1`$ and within $`0.05`$ flux-density of the sub-matching fields. We also find that the general features of the vortex dynamics and reordering are similar to those found with the square pinning array.

## VI Conclusion

We have investigated fractional matching effects in thin-film superconductors with square and triangular arrays of pinning sites. For the square arrays we find matching effects in the form of enhanced critical depinning forces at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`3/4`$, $`1/2`$, $`1/3`$, $`1/4`$, and $`1/5`$. The observed vortex configurations at these fields are in good agreement with recent imaging experiments. The vortex configurations also depend on the strength of the pinning sites. The vortex configuration at the $`1/3`$ matching field can have a transition from a diagonally ordered lattice to a distorted triangular lattice, where every other vortex is interstitially pinned rather than being located in a pinning site.

We also find that the critical depinning current scales linearly with $`f_p`$. Since the vortex lattice at the commensurate fields is symmetric, the vortex-vortex interactions cancel and the vortex lattice is always in the individual vortex pinning regime. For large $`f_p`$, the critical depinning force for the incommensurate fields also scales linearly with deviations from linearity at low $`f_p`$ as vortex-vortex interactions become relevant.

Near $`B/B_\varphi =1,1/2`$, and $`1/4`$ the $`V(I)`$ characteristics show a two-stage depinning which is due to the presence of two well defined vortex species: the vortices of the commensurate lattice configurations, and the interstitials or vacancies in that lattice, which have different depinning thresholds. For $`B/B_\varphi >1`$, a two stage depinning in the $`V(I)`$ curves is always observed.

We find that the vortex lattice depins elastically at commensurate fields where the vortex lattice is symmetric; e.g., at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`1/2`$, and $`1/4`$, while at the incommensurate fields the vortex lattice first undergoes plastic flow where the vortices flow in a random manner, and then at a higher drives reorders and flows elastically in well defined 1D channels along the pinning sites. For $`B/B_\varphi <0.35`$, vortices will still flow elastically along the pinning sites; however, there is considerable disorder in the vortex lattice. For weaker pinning the vortex lattice will reorder for fields $`B/B_\varphi <0.35`$.

We have also investigated triangular pinning arrays and find matching effects at $`B/B_\varphi =1`$, $`6/7`$, $`2/3`$, $`1/3`$, $`1/4`$, $`1/5,`$ and $`1/7`$, which show ordered vortex lattices, while $`1/2`$ and other incommensurate fillings show disordered vortex lattices. For $`B/B_\varphi <0.5`$ and for weaker pinning, we observe additional matching at $`2/7`$ and $`1/6`$ as well as a general enhancement of the other commensurate peaks. For the weaker pinning we also find a commensuration peak at $`B/B_\varphi =1/2`$, which occurs due to the formation of an ordering state where half the vortices are located in the interstitial regions so the overall vortex arrangement is square. The presence of these ordered states should be observable in magnetization curves.

For triangular pinning arrays, with $`B/B_\varphi >1`$, we do not observe any matching features due to certain pinning sites remaining vacant where a pair of vortices can rotate around the vacant pinning site. We observe similar $`V(I)`$ characteristics and dynamics for the triangular pinning array as seen in the square arrays.

The static states for the pinning arrays should be observable with Hall-probe arrays, Bitter decoration and Lorentz microscopy. Similar techniques may also be able to observe the dynamics; particularly at strong drives when the vortices should move in well defined 1D channels along the pinning. The motion of interstitials or vacancies near commensurate fields can be tested experimentally by looking for multiple depinning stages in the current-voltage curves.

Acknowledgements

We thank C.J. Olson for critical reading of this manuscript and S. Bending, S. Field, F. Nori, C.J. Olson, I.K. Schuller, and G.T. Zimányi for useful discussions. This work was supported by NSF-DMR-9985978, by the Director, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Division of Mathematical, Information and Computational Sciences of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC03-76SF00098 as well as by CLC and CULAR (Los Alamos National Laboratory/ University of California).


text:
# Partial Dynamical Symmetry in a Fermionic Many-Body System

## 1 Introduction

The fundamental concept underlying algebraic theories in quantum physics is that of an exact or dynamical symmetry. Realistic quantum systems, however, often require the associated symmetry to be broken in order to allow for a proper description of some observed basic features. Partial dynamical symmetry (PDS) describes an intermediate situation in which some eigenstates exhibit a symmetry which the associated Hamiltonian does not share. The objective of this approach is to remove undesired constraints from the theory while preserving the useful aspects of a dynamical symmetry, such as solvability, for a subset of eigenstates. Here we present an example of a PDS in an interacting fermion system. In the symplectic shell model of nuclei, we introduce PDS Hamiltonians which are closely related to the nuclear quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. An application to 12C is discussed.

## 2 PDS Hamiltonians and quadrupole-quadrupole interaction

The quadrupole-quadrupole interaction is an important ingredient in models that aim at reproducing quadrupole collective properties of nuclei. A model which is able to fully accommodate the action of the collective quadrupole operator, $`Q_{2m}=\sqrt{16\pi /5}_sr_s^2Y_{2m}(\widehat{r}_s)`$, is the symplectic shell model (SSM), an algebraic scheme which respects the Pauli principle. In the SSM, this operator takes the form $`Q_{2m}=\sqrt{3}(\widehat{C}_{2m}^{(11)}+\widehat{A}_{2m}^{(20)}+\widehat{B}_{2m}^{(02)})`$, where $`\widehat{A}_{lm}^{(20)},\widehat{B}_{lm}^{(02)}`$, and $`\widehat{C}_{lm}^{(11)}`$ are symplectic generators with good SU(3) \[superscript $`(\lambda ,\mu )`$\] and SO(3) \[subscript $`l,m`$\] tensorial properties. The $`\widehat{A}_{lm}^{(20)}`$ ($`\widehat{B}_{lm}^{(02)}`$), $`l`$ = 0 or 2, create (annihilate) $`2\mathrm{}\omega `$ excitations in the system. The $`\widehat{C}_{lm}^{(11)}`$, $`l`$ = 1 or 2, generate a SU(3) subgroup and act only within one harmonic oscillator (h.o.) shell ($`\sqrt{3}\widehat{C}_{2m}^{(11)}=`$ $`Q_{2m}^E`$, the quadrupole operator of Elliott, which does not couple different h.o. shells, and $`\widehat{C}_{1m}^{(11)}=\widehat{L}_m`$, the angular momentum operator). The symplectic basis is generated by repeated application of $`\widehat{A}^{(20)}`$ to a $`0\mathrm{}\omega `$ shell model configuration, labeled by its Elliott quantum numbers $`(\lambda _\sigma ,\mu _\sigma )`$. The resulting $`N\mathrm{}\omega `$ excited states ($`N`$=0,2,$`\mathrm{}`$) are coupled to good SU(3)$``$SO(3) symmetry $`(\lambda ,\mu )\kappa LM`$, where $`\kappa `$ enumerates multiple occurrences of $`L`$ in the SU(3) irrep $`(\lambda ,\mu )`$. This labeling scheme defines a dynamical symmetry basis.

The quadrupole-quadrupole interaction connects h.o. states differing in energy by $`0\mathrm{}\omega `$, $`\pm 2\mathrm{}\omega `$, and $`\pm 4\mathrm{}\omega `$, and may be written as

$`Q_2Q_2`$ $`=`$ $`9\widehat{C}_{SU3}3\widehat{C}_{Sp6}+\widehat{H}_0^22\widehat{H}_03\widehat{L}^26\widehat{A}_0\widehat{B}_0`$ (1)
$`+\{\text{terms coupling different h.o. shells}\},`$
where $`\widehat{C}_{SU3}`$ and $`\widehat{C}_{Sp6}`$ are Casimir invariants of SU(3) and Sp(6,R). These operators, as well as $`\widehat{H}_0`$ and $`\widehat{L}^2`$, are diagonal in the dynamical symmetry basis. Unlike the Elliott quadrupole-quadrupole interaction, $`Q_2Q_2`$ breaks SU(3) symmetry within each h.o. shell since $`\widehat{A}_0\widehat{B}_0`$ mixes different SU(3) irreps. To study the action of $`Q_2Q_2`$ within such a shell, we consider the Hamiltonians

$`H(\beta _0,\beta _2)=\beta _0\widehat{A}_0\widehat{B}_0+\beta _2\widehat{A}_2\widehat{B}_2`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{\beta _2}{18}}(9\widehat{C}_{SU3}9\widehat{C}_{Sp6}+3\widehat{H}_0^236\widehat{H}_0)+(\beta _0\beta _2)\widehat{A}_0\widehat{B}_0.`$
For $`\beta _0=\beta _2`$, one recovers the dynamical symmetry, and for $`\beta _0=12`$, $`\beta _2=18`$, one obtains $`Q_2Q_2=H(\beta _0=12,\beta _2=18)+const(N)3\widehat{L}^2`$ \+ terms coupling different shells, where $`const(N)`$ is constant for a given h.o. $`N\mathrm{}\omega `$ excitation.

For general $`\beta _0\beta _2`$, $`H(\beta _0,\beta _2)`$ exhibits partial SU(3) symmetry: The Hamiltonian is not SU(3) invariant, yet it possesses a subset of ‘special’ states which respect the symmetry: All 0$`\mathrm{}\omega `$ states are unmixed and span the entire $`(\lambda _\sigma ,\mu _\sigma )`$ irrep. Moreover, among the excited configurations ($`N>0`$), one finds additional states with good SU(3) symmetry. Unlike the $`0\mathrm{}\omega `$ states, however, they span only part of the corresponding SU(3) irreps. There are other states at each excited level which do not preserve the symmetry and therefore contain a mixture of irreps. The partial SU(3) symmetry of $`H(\beta _0,\beta _2)`$ is converted into partial dynamical symmetry by adding to it SO(3) rotation terms which lead to $`L(L+1)`$-type splitting but do not affect the wave functions. The solvable states then form rotational bands and since their wave functions are known, one can evaluate their energies and the E2 rates between them analytically.

## 3 Application to 12C

To illustrate that the PDS Hamiltonians introduced here are physically relevant, we present an application to 12C. In Fig. 1, we compare the energy spectra of $`H_{PDS}=h(N)+\xi H(\beta _0=12,\beta _2=18)+\gamma _2\widehat{L}^2+\gamma _4\widehat{L}^4`$ and $`H_{QQ}=\widehat{H}_0\chi Q_2Q_2+d_2\widehat{L}^2+d_4\widehat{L}^4`$, where $`h(N)`$ is constant for a given $`N\mathrm{}\omega `$ excitation. $`H_{PDS}`$ has families of pure SU(3) eigenstates which can be organized into rotational bands; they are indicated in the figure.

Although the PDS Hamiltonian cannot account for intershell correlations, it is able to reproduce various features of the quadrupole-quadrupole interaction, as can be seen in Fig. 2, where the structure of selected PDS eigenstates is compared to that of the corresponding $`Q_2Q_2`$ eigenstates: PDS eigenfunctions do not contain admixtures from different $`N\mathrm{}\omega `$ configurations, but belong entirely to one level of excitation. We find that, for reasonable interaction parameters, the $`N\mathrm{}\omega `$ level to which a particular PDS band belongs is also dominant in the corresponding band of exact $`Q_2Q_2`$ eigenstates. Moreover, within this dominant excitation, eigenstates of both Hamiltonians have similar SU(3) distributions. Structural differences, nevertheless, do arise and are reflected in the very sensitive interband transition rates. Overall, however, we may conclude that PDS eigenstates approximately reproduce the structure of the exact $`Q_2Q_2`$ eigenstates, for both ground and the resonance bands.

## 4 Summary

The notion of partial dynamical symmetries extends the familiar concepts of exact and dynamical symmetries. It is applicable when a subset of states exhibit a symmetry which does not arise from invariance properties of the relevant Hamiltonian. Recent studies, including the one presented here, show that partial symmetries are indeed realized in various quantum systems.

## Acknowledgments

This research was carried out in collaboration with A. Leviatan (Hebrew U.).


text:
# Manifestation of superfluidity in an evolving Bose-condensed gas

## Abstract

We study the generation of excitations due to an ”impurity”(static perturbation) placed into an oscillating Bose-condensed gas in the time-dependent trapping field. It is shown that there are two regions for the position of the local perturbation. In the first region the condensate flows around the ”impurity” without generation of excitations demonstrating superfluid properties. In the second region the creation of excitations occurs, at least within a limited time interval, revealing destruction of superfluidity. The phenomenon can be studied by measuring the damping of condensate oscillations at different positions of the ”impurity”.

In studies of Bose-Einstein condensation in ultracold gases there has been outlined a new stage associated with investigating superfluidity (SF) in such systems. This problem is of a specific interest since it is a question of SF of a dilute gas. The first results in revealing a critical velocity have been obtained in . At the same time in  the creation of a vortex is demonstrated in a sophisticated experiment with two condensates. Recently, direct creation of vortices has been observed in a rotating condensate .

An interesting possibility for studying SF may be realized in the observation of evolution of condensate accompanying time-dependent variations of the confining field. For the most interesting case when a parabolic potential keeps its shape, the scaling solutions found in  allow us to describe the evolution of condensate for arbitrary variations of the trap frequencies. The analysis of solutions, in particular, given below, shows that during the evolution there are space-time regions where the velocity $`v(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ of condensate exceeds the local speed of sound $`c(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$, i.e., the local critical velocity for the SF system. Simultaneously, there exists a spatial region where, on the contrary, $`v(\stackrel{}{r},t)<c(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ for any time. In the absence of external perturbations the presence of the regions with $`v(\stackrel{}{r},t)>c(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ does not result in itself in the irreversible processes and the oscillations of condensate do not decay at a temperature $`T=0.`$

However, provided an external perturbation is localized in the region where $`v(\stackrel{}{r},t)>c(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ even for a limited time interval, generation of collective excitations of the condensate takes place. Naturally, this results in the decay of the oscillations of the condensate. At the same time, if the perturbation is located in the region where always $`v(\stackrel{}{r},t)<c(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ , the gas in the presence of SF will flow adiabatically about the local perturbation not creating excitations and, therefore, without decay of the oscillations of the condensate. Thus, measuring the decay of oscillations of the condensate under changing localization of perturbation, we can display the SF properties of a Bose-condensed gas.

As is found in , for the isotropic 2D parabolic potential there is an exact scaling solution for arbitrary values of the gas density $`n`$ and initial trap frequency $`\omega _0`$ and an arbitrary dependence $`\omega \left(t\right)`$. Moreover, the energy of the interparticle interaction and kinetic energy in this case change identically with an expanding gas, entailing similar variation of the main parameters. On the whole, this makes a choice of the trap geometry close to the cylindric one very attractive. In this case a static perturbation can be induced by the laser beam parallel to the longitudinal cylindric axis and limited in the transverse size. Shifting the beam axis in the radial direction, one can change the localization of perturbation.

It is worthwhile to note that for this type of investigations, a trapped Bose- condensed gas has an essential advantage in comparison with the $`{}_{}{}^{4}He`$ quantum liquid. This is related with the isolation of a gas from any walls, the possibility to concentrate a majority of particles in the condensate, and with studying the appearance of irreversibility and the partial destruction of coherence at the conditions of the large-scale time-spatial evolution of condensate with the strong change of density

Below we consider the evolution of the condensate in an isotropic 2D parabolic potential with the time-dependent frequency $`\omega \left(t\right)`$ and determine the generation of excitations under external static perturbation. The generalization for the 3D case of the cylindric symmetry and extended perturbation unchanging along the longitudinal axis can be performed easily.

Examining evolution of the 2D interacting Bose gas in the time-dependent confining potential, we can employ the general equation for the Heisenberg field operator of atoms

$$i\mathrm{}\frac{\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(\stackrel{}{r},t)}{t}=[\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\mathrm{\Delta }+\frac{m\omega ^2(t)r^2}{2}]\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(\stackrel{}{r},t)+U_0\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}^+(\stackrel{}{r},t)\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(\stackrel{}{r},t)\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(\stackrel{}{r},t).$$
(1)
The only simplification in the equation is an assumption of the local character of the interparticle interaction which allows us to present this interaction in the form $`U\left(r_1r_2\right)=U_0\delta \left(r_1r_2\right)`$.

Let us introduce a scaling parameter $`b\left(t\right)`$ and, correspondingly, spatial and time variables $`\stackrel{}{\rho }=\stackrel{}{r}b\left(t\right),\tau (t).`$

For the 2D case, let us represent the operator $`\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(r,t)`$ as

$$\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(r,t)=\frac{1}{b}\widehat{\chi }(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )\mathrm{exp}\left[i\mathrm{\Phi }(r,t)\right].$$
(2)
Substituting (2) into (1) and using the results obtained in , we find

$$\mathrm{\Phi }(r,t)=mr^2\frac{1}{2\mathrm{}b}\frac{db}{dt}.$$
(3)
Then the equation for operator $`\widehat{\chi }(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )`$ reduces to

$$i\mathrm{}\frac{\widehat{\chi }}{\tau }=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\mathrm{\Delta }_\rho \widehat{\chi }+\frac{1}{2}m\omega _0^2\rho ^2\widehat{\chi }+U_0\widehat{\chi }^+\widehat{\chi }\widehat{\chi }.$$
(4)
The equation takes such form if we accept that $`b\left(t\right)`$ and $`\tau (t)`$ are determined by the equations

$$\frac{d^2b}{dt^2}+\omega ^2\left(t\right)b=\frac{\omega _0^2}{b^3},\tau (t)=\underset{0}{\overset{t}{}}𝑑t^{}/b^2(t^{}).$$
(5)
We put $`\omega \left(\mathrm{}\right)=\omega _0`$ in Eqs. (4) and (5). Equation (5) should be solved at the initial conditions of $`b\left(\mathrm{}\right)=1,`$ $`\dot{b}\left(\mathrm{}\right)=0`$ .

It follows from Eq.(4) that the problem in the $`\stackrel{}{\rho }`$ and $`\tau `$ variables reduces to the solution of the equation for the static parabolic potential of the initial frequency $`\omega _0.`$ Finding solution and deriving $`b\left(t\right)`$ and $`\tau \left(t\right)`$ from (5), we obtain a complete description for the space-time evolution at an arbitrary variation of $`\omega \left(t\right)`$. It is essential that this refers, to the same extent, to both the condensate and the excited states of the system.

Let us restrict our consideration with the case of zero temperature. Then the ground state in the static potential represents the condensate and in Eq.(4) the operator $`\widehat{\chi }`$ can be replaced by the macroscopic condensate wavefunction $`\chi _0(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )`$ having a typical dependence on $`\tau `$

$$\chi _0(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )=\chi _0\left(\stackrel{}{\rho }\right)e^{i\mu \tau /\mathrm{}}.$$
(6)
Here $`\mu `$ is the starting chemical potential and $`\chi _0\left(\stackrel{}{\rho }\right)`$ is the solution of the equation

$$\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\mathrm{\Delta }_\rho \chi _0+[\mu +\frac{1}{2}m\omega _0^2\rho ^2+U_0\chi _0^2]\chi _0=0.$$
(7)
To describe excitations in the system, we introduce operator $`\widehat{\chi }^{}(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )`$. Let us write the initial operator $`\widehat{\chi }`$ as $`\widehat{\chi }(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )=[\chi _0\left(\stackrel{}{\rho }\right)+\widehat{\chi }^{}(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )]e^{i\mu \tau /\mathrm{}}`$ and substitute it into (4). Then we find for the equation linearized in $`\widehat{\chi }^{}(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )`$

$$i\mathrm{}\frac{\widehat{\chi }^{}}{\tau }=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\mathrm{\Delta }_\rho \widehat{\chi }^{}+(\frac{1}{2}m\omega _0^2\rho ^2\mu )\widehat{\chi }^{}+2U_0\chi _0^2\widehat{\chi }^{}+U_0\chi _0^2\widehat{\chi }^+.$$
(8)
This equation determines excitations in the coordinates of $`(\stackrel{}{\rho },\tau )`$ and we can consider any problem in this reference frame. However, keeping in mind the solution of the problem on creating excitations under a static perturbation, it is more natural to investigate it in the laboratory reference frame.

Let us rewrite Eq.(8) introducing new variables $`\stackrel{}{r}`$ and $`t`$. For this purpose, we use the relations

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{\chi }^{}}{\tau }}=b^2{\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{\chi }^{}}{t}}+\stackrel{}{r}b\dot{b}{\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{\chi }^{}}{\stackrel{}{r}}},\mathrm{\Delta }_\rho \widehat{\chi }^{}=b^2\mathrm{\Delta }\widehat{\chi }^{}.`$

We assume that the density of a gas is sufficiently large and $`\mu \mathrm{}\omega _0,`$ i.e., the Thomas-Fermi approximation is valid. Then we find the condensate density from Eq.(7) (see (2))

$$n_0(\stackrel{}{r},t)=\frac{1}{b^2\left(t\right)}\chi _0^2,\chi _0^2=\frac{\mu }{U_0}(1\frac{r^2}{R^2\left(t\right)}),$$
(9)
where

$$R\left(t\right)=R_0b\left(t\right),R_0=\sqrt{2\mu /m\omega _0^2}.$$
(10)
As a result, in the laboratory reference frame Eq.(8) reads

$$i\mathrm{}\frac{\widehat{\chi }^{}}{t}=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\mathrm{\Delta }\widehat{\chi }^{}+g\widehat{\chi }^{}+g\widehat{\chi }^+i\mathrm{}\stackrel{}{v}\widehat{\chi }^{}.$$
(11)
Here

$`\stackrel{}{v}`$ $`=`$ $`\stackrel{}{r}{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{b}}{b}},`$ (12)
$`g`$ $`=`$ $`U_0n_0(\stackrel{}{r},t)={\displaystyle \frac{\mu }{b^2\left(t\right)}}(1{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{R^2\left(t\right)}})`$ (13)
It is easy to see that the quantity $`\stackrel{}{v}`$ is a local velocity of the condensate. In fact, the total condensate wavefunction equals

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_0(r,t)=\frac{1}{b}\chi _0\mathrm{exp}\left[i\mathrm{\Phi }(r,t)\frac{i\mu \tau (t)}{\mathrm{}}\right].$$
(14)
Taking into account (3) and determining phase gradient, we arrive at expression (12) for the velocity. A special attention should be paid for the appearance of the Doppler $`\stackrel{}{v}\stackrel{}{p}\widehat{\chi }^{}`$ term in Eq.(11), $`\widehat{p}=\left(i\mathrm{}\right)`$ being the operator of momentum.

Note that, according to (9), the density$`n_0(\stackrel{}{r},t)`$ is proportional to $`b^2\left(t\right)`$. Correspondingly, the correlation length of $`\xi n_0^{1/2}`$ changes in time as $`\xi =\xi _0b\left(t\right)`$ where $`\xi _0=\mathrm{}\left(2mU_0n_0(0,0)\right)^{1/2}.`$ The size of the system $`R\left(t\right)`$ (see (10)) changes in the same manner. Thus a ratio of these quantities $`\xi \left(t\right)/R\left(t\right)=\xi _0/R_0`$ conserves for an arbitrary scale of evolution.

The inequality $`\xi _0/R_01`$ is crucial for the Thomas-Fermi approximation. So, if this approximation is valid at the initial time, it remains valid for an arbitrary time. Since $`\xi \left(t\right)/R\left(t\right)1`$ , we have a quasi uniform problem at any time, considering excitations of the $`\xi \left(t\right)\lambda R\left(t\right)`$ wavelengths. The scale of the uniform regions, according to Eq.(11), changes with the typical time of $`t_{eff}b\left(t\right)/\dot{b}\left(t\right).`$ The well-defined excitations satisfy the inequality of $`\omega t_{eff}1`$, i.e., satisfy the quasistationary condition.

Let us consider the case of the fast transition from frequency $`\omega _0`$ to $`\omega _1=\omega _0/\beta ,\beta >1.`$ In this case the solution of Eq.(5) yields

$$b^2\left(t\right)=\frac{1}{2}\left(\beta ^2+1\right)\frac{1}{2}\left(\beta ^21\right)\mathrm{cos}2\omega _1t.$$
(15)
Hence

$$\stackrel{}{v}=\stackrel{}{r}\frac{\omega _1}{2b^2}\left(\beta ^21\right)\mathrm{sin}2\omega _1t.$$
(16)
As we will see below, the excitations of $`\lambda \xi `$ give the main contribution into the damping. The energy of these excitations is of the order of $`U_0n_0(0,t)=\mu /b^2\left(t\right)`$ and, correspondingly,

$`\omega t_{eff}{\displaystyle \frac{2\mu }{\mathrm{}\omega _0}}{\displaystyle \frac{\beta }{\left(\beta ^21\right)\mathrm{sin}2\omega _1t}}.`$

It is clear that the $`\omega t_{eff}1`$ condition holds if $`2\mu /\mathrm{}\omega _0\beta .`$ The last inequality can easily be fulfilled. Thus, we can seek for the solution of Eq.(11) within the quasiuniform and quasistationary approximation.

Let us introduce a typical representation for operator $`\widehat{\chi }^{}`$

$$\widehat{\chi }^{}/b=\underset{\stackrel{}{k}}{}\mathrm{exp}\left(i\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{r}\right)\widehat{a}_\stackrel{}{k},$$
(17)
where $`\widehat{a}_\stackrel{}{k}`$ is the annihilation operator of a particle. We employ the known Bogoliubov transformation, e.g.,, for the operator $`\widehat{a}_\stackrel{}{k}`$

$$\widehat{a}_\stackrel{}{k}=u_\stackrel{}{k}\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}v_\stackrel{}{k}\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}^+,$$
(18)
where $`\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}^+`$ and $`\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}`$ are the creation and annihilation operators of collective Bose excitations. As a result, the solution of Eq. (11) gives the excitation spectrum

$$\epsilon _\stackrel{}{k}=\mathrm{}\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{v}+\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_\stackrel{}{k},\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_\stackrel{}{k}=\sqrt{E_\stackrel{}{k}^2g^2},E_\stackrel{}{k}=\frac{\mathrm{}^2\stackrel{}{k}^2}{2m}+g,$$
(19)
The expression for the coefficients of the transformation is given by

$$u_\stackrel{}{k}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{E_\stackrel{}{k}}{\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_\stackrel{}{k}}+1\right)},v_\stackrel{}{k}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{E_\stackrel{}{k}}{\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_\stackrel{}{k}}1\right)}.$$
(20)
Let an external perturbation of a size of about $`d<<R_0`$ and localized near $`\stackrel{}{r}=\stackrel{}{r}_p`$ be described by an effective interaction $`B(\stackrel{}{r}\stackrel{}{r}_p)`$. The Hamiltonian of the interaction of the gas with the perturbation has the form

$`H_{int}={\displaystyle d^2r\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}^+(\stackrel{}{r},t)B(\stackrel{}{r}\stackrel{}{r}_p)\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(\stackrel{}{r},t)}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{b^2}}{\displaystyle d^2r\widehat{\chi }^+(\stackrel{}{r},t)B(\stackrel{}{r}\stackrel{}{r}_p)\widehat{\chi }(\stackrel{}{r},t)}.`$

Selecting terms corresponding to the single-particle excitations, we have

$$H_{int}=\frac{1}{b^2}d^2r[\chi _0(\stackrel{}{r},t)B(\stackrel{}{r}\stackrel{}{r}_p)\widehat{\chi }^{}(\stackrel{}{r},t)+hc].$$
(21)
Let us transform this Hamiltonian, using (17), (18), and value of $`\chi _0=b\sqrt{n_0}`$

$$H_{int}=\sqrt{n_0(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)}\underset{\stackrel{}{k}}{}B_\stackrel{}{k}\mathrm{exp}\left(i\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{r}_p\right)[u_\stackrel{}{k}v_\stackrel{}{k}]\left(\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}+\widehat{b}_\stackrel{}{k}^+\right).$$
(22)
If we take into account Eq.(19), the probability per unit time of creating excitations equals ($`T=0`$)

$$W=\frac{2\pi }{\mathrm{}}n_0(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)\frac{d^2k}{\left(2\pi \right)^2}\left|B_k\right|^2[u_kv_k]^2\delta \left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k+\mathrm{}\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{v}\right).$$
(23)
In accordance with Eq.(20)

$`(u_kv_k)^2={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2k^2}{2m\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k}}.`$

Integration over the angles in Eq.(23) yields

$`{\displaystyle 𝑑\phi \delta \left(\mathrm{}kv\mathrm{cos}\phi +\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k\right)}={\displaystyle \frac{2\theta \left(1\left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}kv\right)\right)}{\mathrm{}kv\sqrt{1\left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}kv\right)^2}}},`$

where $`\theta \left(x\right)`$ is the step function: $`\theta \left(x\right)=1`$ for $`x0`$ and $`\theta \left(x\right)=0`$ for $`x<0.`$ Then

$$W=\frac{n_0(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)}{2\pi vm}𝑑k\left|B_k\right|^2\frac{k^2}{\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k}\frac{\theta \left(1\left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}kv\right)\right)}{\sqrt{1\left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}kv\right)^2}}.$$
(24)
As follows from this expression, creation of an excitation with the wavevector $`k`$ occurs provided $`v>\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}k,`$ i.e., provided that the familiar Landau criterium holds. The generation of excitations is completely absent if $`v(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)<c(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)`$.

The local velocity of sound equals (see (19))

$`c(\stackrel{}{r},t)=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{g(\stackrel{}{r},t)}{m}}}={\displaystyle \frac{c_0}{b\left(t\right)}}\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{R^2\left(t\right)}}\right)^{1/2},`$

where $`c_0=\sqrt{\mu /m}.`$ Taking into account the local magnitude of the gas velocity (16) and expression (15), we have

$$\alpha =\frac{v^2(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)}{c^2(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)}=\frac{2\eta ^2\left(b^21\right)\left(\beta ^2b^2\right)}{\beta ^2\left(b^2\eta ^2\right)}\theta \left(b\eta \right),\eta =\frac{r_p}{R_0},\beta =\frac{\omega _0}{\omega _1}.$$
(25)
For $`1<\eta <\beta `$, the dependence of $`\alpha `$ on $`b^2\left(t\right)`$ is a monotonically decreasing function with the inevitably existing region where the generation of excitations ($`\alpha >1`$) takes place. If $`1<\eta \beta ,`$

$`b_{\mathrm{min}}=\eta ,b_{\mathrm{max}}=\beta \left(1{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4\eta ^2}}\right).`$

If $`\eta <1,`$ the value $`\alpha `$ as a function of $`b^2`$ has a maximum at the point

$`b_m^2=\eta ^2+\sqrt{\left(\beta ^2\eta ^2\right)\left(1\eta ^2\right)}.`$

Calculating $`\alpha _m`$ at this point, we can verify that the generation of excitations does not appear in the whole region of $`r_p<R_0`$ if $`\beta <\sqrt{2}.`$ At the same time, the generation is absent at $`r_p<R_0/\sqrt{2}`$ for an arbitrary value of $`\beta `$.

Suppose that $`r_p>R_0`$ and let us calculate an integral in Eq.(24). The values of $`k`$ are limited by the condition which follows from the equality $`\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k=\mathrm{}kv`$,

$$kk_{},k_{}=\frac{2m}{\mathrm{}}\sqrt{v^2c^2}.$$
(26)
In the 2D case the effective vertex $`B_k`$ in the interaction Hamiltonian (22) at $`k_{}d<1`$ can be represented as

$$B_k=\frac{B_k^{\left(0\right)}}{1+\left(mB_k^{\left(0\right)}/\pi \mathrm{}^2\right)\mathrm{ln}\left(1/kd\right)},$$
(27)
where $`B_k^{\left(0\right)}`$ is the Fourier transform of the bare potential, $`d`$ being a length of the order of the size of perturbation potential in the 2D case. If this value is large enough, we have

$$B_k=\frac{\pi \mathrm{}^2}{m\mathrm{ln}\left(1/kd\right)}$$
(28)
i.e., it has only a weak logarithmic dependence on $`k`$. In the opposite case $`k_{}d>1`$ Eqs. (25) and (28) are not valid and the calculation of the transition amplitude requires a knowledge of the concrete form of the interaction potential. The most contribution into the integral (24) is given by the interval adjoined the upper limit $`k_{}`$. We can approximately take a factor of $`\left|B_k\right|^2`$ out of the integral, putting $`k_{}`$ into the argument of the logarithm. Next, integral (24) can be calculated exactly as an integral over $`x=\left(\stackrel{~}{\epsilon }_k/\mathrm{}vk\right)`$ within the limits $`(c/v,1)`$

$$W=\frac{mn_0(\stackrel{}{r}_p,t)\left|B_{}\right|^2}{\mathrm{}^3}[1\frac{2}{\pi }\mathrm{arcsin}\frac{c}{v}]\theta \left(1\frac{c}{v}\right),B_{}=B_k_{}.$$
(29)
Let us determine the total number of excitations created for a period of the condensate oscillations in the case of $`1<\eta \beta .`$

$$I=2\underset{t_1}{\overset{t_2}{}}𝑑tW.$$
(30)
The time $`t_1`$ determines the moment when the boundary of the gas front reaches the point $`r_p`$. This value is found from the condition $`r_p=b\left(t_1\right)R_0.`$ It follows from Eq.(15) that $`b^2\left(t_1\right)1+\left(\omega _0t_1\right)^2`$ and $`t_1\sqrt{\eta ^21}/\omega _01/\omega _1.`$ The time $`t_2`$, found from the condition $`\alpha =1`$ (25), equals $`t_2[\pi /21/\left(\sqrt{2}\eta \right)]/\omega _1`$. Substituting Eq.(9) for the density into (29), one can see that the integral over time is dominated by the lower limit. From the physical point of view this is associated with the fact that the condensate density at point $`r_p`$ has a maximum during evolution just for $`tt_1`$. It follows from (25) that $`c/v1/\left(\sqrt{2}\eta \right)`$. Under this condition the factor in the square brackets in Eq.(29) is of the order of unity. After integration we find

$$I\frac{1}{\mathrm{}^3}mn_0(0,0)\left|B_{}\right|^2\frac{1}{\eta \omega _0}.$$
(31)
Substituting (28) into (31) and introducing the total number of particles $`N=\frac{1}{2}\pi R_0^2n_0(0,0)`$ instead of $`n_0(0,0)`$, we find

$$I\frac{\pi \mathrm{}\omega _0}{\eta \mu }\frac{N}{\mathrm{ln}^2\left(1/k_{}d\right)},\eta =\frac{r_p}{R_0}.$$
(32)
In the present case we have put $`\mathrm{}\omega _0/\mu 1.`$ This means that the number of excitations $`I`$ and also the number of particles escaped from the condensate for the oscillation period are small compared with $`N.`$

The total energy of the excitations generated during one oscillation period can be estimated as $`\mu \eta ^2I.`$ Since the energy of the oscillating condensate is about $`\mu N`$, the relative energy loss for a period at $`\eta 1`$ and $`\beta 1`$ approximately equals $`\eta ^2I/N`$. Varying the initial condensate density ($`\mu `$) or the ’impurity’ position, one can change the damping rate.

Treating a realistic problem in the quasi 2D case corresponding to the cylindric symmetry of the field configuration with the transverse parabolic potential and perturbation independent of the longitudinal coordinates, we arrive at the result of (32) with $`N`$ equal to the total 3D number of particles. One can readily see that, if the condensate 3D wavefunction is written as $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0^{(3)}(x,y,z)=\mathrm{\Psi }_0^{(2)}(x,y)/\sqrt{L_z}`$ and normalized by the total number of particles, the wavefunction $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0^{(2)}`$ is governed by the same Gross-Pitaevsky equation as in the purely 2D case with the replacement of $`U_0`$ $`U_0^{(2)}U_0^{(3)}/L_z`$. Since $`n_0^{(2)}=L_zn_0^{(3)},`$ we have $`n_0^{(2)}U_0^{(2)}=n_0^{(3)}U_0^{(3)}.`$ The cylindric symmetry of perturbation results in creating collective excitations of $`k_z=0`$ alone. In addition, the problem of scattering proves to be purely two-dimensional and we arrive at Eqs.(28) and (32). The quantities $`B_k^{(0)}`$ and $`B_k`$ remain as 2D Fourier components. Note, that, if the laser beam parallel to the cylindric axis is used as a static perturbation (possibly, with the light sheets at the edges), an influence of the regions where the beam enters and leaves the condensate is unessential.

In conclusion, we have investigated the generation of excitations in the oscillating condensate in a time-dependent parabolic trap at the presence of a static local perturbation. We have revealed the existence of two space regions for the position of an ”impurity”. In the first region of $`r_p<R_0/\sqrt{2}`$ the generation of excitations is absent at any scale of oscillations. In the second one of $`r_p>R_0`$ the generation is realized inevitably for an arbitrary set of parameters and we have found the generation rate. The results for the first region are a direct consequence of SF of condensate. For any position in the second region, there is a finite time interval when the local velocity of the condensate proves to be larger than the local velocity of sound, entailing violation of SF. Measurements of the damping of the condensate oscillations at different positions of the perturbation opens a possibility to study the manifestation of SF in the evolving condensate.

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and by the Grants INTAS-97-0972 and INTAS-97-11066. This work was partially performed while one of the authors (Yu. K.) was at Technical University of Munich under the Humboldt Research Award program.