Candlestick Modes and Anisotropic Collapse of Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates

Abstract

We use a gradient-decent method to compute 3D ground states of dipolar Bose-Einstein conden- sates. We discover that in highly-prolate traps, whose long axis is parallel to the dipoles, can give rise to candlestick ground states. Direct numerical simulations of the dipolar Gross-Pitaevskii equation reveal that the nucleus of the candlestick mode undergoes collapse, while obtaining a highly flat pancake shape. The rate of this anisotropic collapse scales differently from what occurs in isotropic collapse. Stability analysis reveals a surprising cusp point in the mass vs. chemical potential curve, which may serve as a signature for this dynamics.