A Dielectric Superfluid of Polar Molecules

Abstract

We show that, under achievable experimental conditions, a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of polar molecules can exhibit dielectric character. In particular, we derive a set of self-consistent mean-field equations that couple the condensate density to its electric dipole field, leading to the emergence of polarization modes that are coupled to the rich quasiparticle spectrum of the condensate. While the usual roton instability is suppressed in this system, the coupling can give rise to a phonon-like instability that is characteristic of a dielectric material with a negative static dielectric function.

Version published in New Journal of Physics, 11+ pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Strongly correlated 2D quantum phases with cold polar molecules: controlling the shape of the interaction potential
• Stabilizing a purely dipolar quantum gas against collapse
• Radial and angular rotons in trapped dipolar gases
• Coherent collapse of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate for different trap geometries

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Manipulation of Molecules with Electromagnetic Fields
• Exact analytical soliton solutions in dipolar BEC
• Fine Structure of Open Shell Diatomic Molecules in Combined Electric and Magnetic Fields
• Self-consistent field theory of polarized BEC: dispersion of collective excitation
• Dispersion properties of transverse waves propagating in the electrically polarized BECs
• Novel soliton in dipolar BEC caused by the quantum fluctuations
• Spin Waves and Dielectric Softening of Polar Molecule Condensates
• Two-state Bogoliubov theory of a molecular Bose gas