Fate of traveling waves at the boundary of quantum droplets
Phys. Rev. E 112, 054205 – Published 4 November, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/s48r-ylm4
Abstract
We analyze quantum droplets formed in a two-dimensional symmetric mixture of Bose-Einstein condensed atoms. For sufficiently large atom numbers, these droplets exhibit a flattop density profile with sharp boundaries governed by surface tension. Within the bulk of the droplet, traveling matter waves—localized density dips—can propagate at constant velocity while maintaining their shape. Using numerical simulations and qualitative analysis, we investigate the rich phenomenology that arises when such excitations reach the boundary of a finite droplet. We show that they can emit a small outgoing droplet, excite internal modes of the host soliton, or, in the case of vortex-antivortex pairs, split into individual vortices propagating backward near the edge. Furthermore, we demonstrate that traveling waves can be dynamically generated near the boundary through the collision of distinct droplets, and we discuss their trajectories and interactions.
