In theoretical physics, a roton is an elementary excitation, or quasiparticle, seen in superfluid helium-4 and Bose-Einstein condensates with long-range dipolar interactions or spin-orbit coupling. The dispersion relation of elementary excitations in this superfluid shows a linear increase from the origin, but exhibits first a maximum and then a minimum in energy as the momentum increases. Excitations with momenta in the linear region are called phonons; those with momenta close to the minimum are called rotons. Excitations with momenta near the maximum are called maxons.
The term "roton" is also used for the quantized eigenmode of a freely rotating molecule.
Models
Originally, the roton spectrum was phenomenologically introduced by Lev Landau. Currently there exist different models which try to explain the roton spectrum with different degrees of success and fundamentality.[1][2] The requirement for any model of this kind is that it must explain not only the shape of the spectrum itself but also other related observables, such as the speed of sound and structure factor of superfluid helium-4. Microwave and Bragg spectroscopy has been conducted on helium to study the roton spectrum.[3]
Bose–Einstein condensation
Bose–Einstein condensation of rotons has been also proposed and studied.[4] Its first detection has been reported in 2018.[5] Under specific conditions the roton minimum gives rise to a crystal solid-like structure called the supersolid, as shown in experiments from 2019[6].
See also
Superfluid
Macroscopic quantum phenomena
Bose–Einstein condensate
References
"Fingerprinting Rotons in a Dipolar Condensate: Super-Poissonian Peak in the Atom-Number Fluctuations". Physical Review Letters 110: 265302. 26 June 2013. arXiv:1304.3605. Bibcode:2013PhRvL.110z5302B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.265302.
"Roton spectroscopy in a harmonically trapped dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate". Physical Review A. 86: 021604. Aug 15, 2012. arXiv:1206.2770. Bibcode:2012PhRvA..86b1604B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.86.021604.
"Microwave Spectroscopy of Condensed Helium at the Roton Frequency". Journal of Low Temperature Physics. 4 Nov 2009. Bibcode:2010JLTP..158..244R. doi:10.1007/s10909-009-0025-6.
"The role of the condensate in the existence of phonons and rotons". Journal of Low Temperature Physics. December 1993. Bibcode:1993JLTP...93..861G. doi:10.1007/BF00692035.
Chomaz, L. (2018). "Observation of roton mode population in a dipolar quantum gas". Nature Physics. arXiv:1705.06914. Bibcode:2018NatPh..14..442C. doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0054-7.
Donner, Tobias (2019-04-03). "Dipolar Quantum Gases go Supersolid". Physics. 12.
Bibliography
Feynman, RP, Superfluidity and Superconductivity, Reviews of Modern Physics 29, 205 (1957)
vte
Particles in physics
Elementary
Fermions
Quarks
Up (quark antiquark) Down (quark antiquark) Charm (quark antiquark) Strange (quark antiquark) Top (quark antiquark) Bottom (quark antiquark)
Leptons
Electron Positron Muon Antimuon Tau Antitau Electron neutrino Electron antineutrino Muon neutrino Muon antineutrino Tau neutrino Tau antineutrino
Bosons
Gauge
Scalar
Hypothetical
Superpartners
Gauginos
Others
Axino Chargino Higgsino Neutralino Sfermion (Stop squark)
Others
Axion Curvaton Dilaton Dual graviton Graviphoton Graviton Inflaton Leptoquark Magnetic monopole Majoron Majorana fermion Dark photon Planck particle Preon Sterile neutrino Tachyon W′ and Z′ bosons X and Y bosons
Nucleon
Proton Antiproton Neutron Antineutron Delta baryon Lambda baryon Sigma baryon Xi baryon Omega baryon
Mesons
Pion Rho meson Eta and eta prime mesons Phi meson J/psi meson Omega meson Upsilon meson Kaon B meson D meson Quarkonium
Exotic hadrons
Others
Atomic nuclei Atoms Exotic atoms
Positronium Muonium Tauonium Onia Pionium Superatoms Molecules
Hypothetical
Baryons
Hexaquark Heptaquark Skyrmion
Mesons
Others
Mesonic molecule Pomeron Diquark R-hadron
Anyon Davydov soliton Dropleton Exciton Hole Magnon Phonon Plasmaron Plasmon Polariton Polaron Roton Trion
Lists
Baryons Mesons Particles Quasiparticles Timeline of particle discoveries
Related
History of subatomic physics
timeline Standard Model
mathematical formulation Subatomic particles Particles Antiparticles Nuclear physics Eightfold way
Quark model Exotic matter Massless particle Relativistic particle Virtual particle Wave–particle duality Particle chauvinism
Wikipedia books
Hadronic Matter Particles of the Standard Model Leptons Quarks
Hellenica World - Scientific Library
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
