Free expansion of attractive and repulsive Bose-Einstein condensed vortex states

Free expansion of attractive and repulsive Bose-Einstein condensed vortex states formed in an axially symmetric trap is investigated using the numerical solution of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In a repulsive condensate the vortex-core radius is much smaller than the radial root-mean-square (rms) radius, which makes the experimental observation of the vortex core difficult. The opposite is found to be true in an attractive condensate that makes it a better candidate for experimental observation. Also, in all cases the ratio of vortex-core radius to radial rms radius increases as the angular momentum of the vortex increases. This makes the vortex states with higher angular momenta more suitable for experimental confirmation. © 2002 The American Physical Society.