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Phys. Rev. A 78, 023624 (2008) [9 pages]

Interface tension of Bose-Einstein condensates

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Bert Van Schaeybroeck
Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

Received 16 May 2008; published 20 August 2008

Motivated by recent observations of phase-segregated binary Bose-Einstein condensates, we propose a method to calculate the excess energy due to the interface tension of a trapped configuration. By this method one should be able to numerically reproduce the experimental data by means of a simple Thomas-Fermi approximation, combined with interface excess terms and the Laplace equation. Using the Gross-Pitaevskii theory, we find expressions for the interface excesses which are accurate in a very broad range of the interspecies and intraspecies interaction parameters. We also present finite-temperature corrections to the interface tension which, aside from the regime of weak segregation, turn out to be small.

© 2008 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.78.023624
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevA.78.023624
PACS:
67.85.Fg, 67.60.Bc, 67.85.Bc