Superfluidity in a gas of strongly-interacting bosons

Abstract

We consider small systems of bosonic atoms rotating in a toroidal trap. Using the method of exact numerical diagonalization of the many-body Hamiltonian, we examine the transition from the Bose-Einstein condensed state to the Tonks-Girardeau state. The system supports persistent currents in a wide range between the two limits, even in the absence of Bose-Einstein condensation.