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Breaking a Superfluid Harmonic Dam: Observation and Theory of Riemann Invariants and Accelerating Sonic Horizons

Shashwat Sharan1, Judith Gonzalez Sorribes2, Patrick Sprenger1, Mark A. Hoefer3, P. Engels4, Boaz Ilan1,*, and M. E. Mossman2,4,†

  • *Contact author: bilan@ucmerced.edu
  • †Contact author: mmossman@sandiego.edu
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 193402 – Published 7 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/38f7-ym2v

Abstract

An experimental and theoretical study of sonic horizons emerging from the dam-break problem in a Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an anisotropic harmonic trap is presented. Measurements, analysis, and numerics reveal the formation of a sonic horizon that undergoes acceleration due to harmonic confinement. The superfluid is characterized using a robust measurement technique to determine Riemann invariants. Experimental observations agree with an analytical solution of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and computations. The collision and annihilation between two sonic horizons at long times is predicted.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 193402– Published 7 November, 2025
  • Received 6 April 2025
  • Accepted 14 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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