Quantum tidal locking in orbiting Bose-Einstein condensates
Yaoyuan Fan, Shuoyu Shi, Lang Cao, Ziyue He, Qiuxin Zhang, Dong Hu, Yu Wang, Qing Wang, Tianwei Zhou, Xiaoji Zhou
arxiv.org/abs/2606.11919 [ππππ-πππ.πππππ-πππ πππ’ππππ.ππππ-ππ]
ALT Angular momentum coupling manifests widely in diverse physical systems, underpinning the emergent properties and collective dynamics across different scales. The tidal locking, which originates from the synchronization of rotational and orbital motions, has far-reaching impacts in celestial mechanics, reflecting fundamental processes of angular momentum transfer, energy dissipation, and evolution toward dynamical equilibrium. However, its counterpart in mesoscopic quantum fluids has remained largely unexplored. Here we demonstrate the emergence of quantum tidal locking in Bose-Einstein condensates undergoing central force motion in an anharmonic potential. The condensate follows a well-defined orbital trajectory in a static trap and experiences an effective rotating potential induced by the trap anharmonicity. The sustained geometric squeezing continuously deforms the condensate and drives a self-organized synchronization process, in which the intrinsic rotation gradually locks to the