Damping of superfluid flow by a thermal cloud

Abstract

One of the principal signatures of superfluidity is the frictionless flow of a superfluid through another substance. Here, we study the flow of a Bose-Einstein condensate through a thermal cloud and study its damping for different harmonic confinements and temperatures. The damping rates close to the collisionless regime are found to be in good agreement with Landau damping and become smaller for more homogeneous systems. In the hydrodynamic regime, we observe additional damping due to collisions, and we discuss the implications of these findings for superfluidity in this system.