Stability of quantized vortices in two-component condensates

Abstract

Multiply quantized vortices (MQVs) within single-component Bose-Einstein condensates are unstable and decay rapidly. We show that MQVs can be stabilized by adding a small number of atoms of a second species to the vortex cores, and that these atoms remain in the vortex core as the system evolves. A consequence of the stabilization is that nearby corotating vortices can orbit in the opposite sense to their individual rotations when enough of the second species is present. This has implications concerning the imaging of vortices, as well as quantum turbulence and vortex nucleation in two-component condensates, such as those involving mixtures of ^{87}Rb and ^{133}Cs.