Supersolid formation in a dipolar condensate by roton instability

Abstract

We characterize the role of the roton instability in the formation of a supersolid state of an elongated dipolar condensate, following a quench of the contact interactions across the superfluid-supersolid transition, as observed in recent experiments. We perform dynamical simulations by means of the extended Gross-Pitaevskii equation including quantum corrections, for different final values of the $s-$wave scattering length. The corresponding excitation spectrum is computed using an effective one-dimensional description, revealing that the calculated growth rates of the unstable roton mode accurately reproduce the observed behavior. Our results provide valuable insights regarding the formation time of the supersolid and its scaling behavior with respect to the $s$-wave scattering length.