Stability of vortex structures in quantum dots

Abstract

We study the stability and structure of vortices emerging in two-dimensional quantum dots in high magnetic fields. Our results obtained with exact diagonalization and density-functional calculations show that vortex structures can be found in various confining potentials. In nonsymmetric external potentials we find off-electron vortices that are localized giving rise to charge deficiency or holes in the electron density with rotating currents around them. We discuss the role of quantum fluctuations and show that vortex formation is observable in the energetics of the system. Our findings suggest that vortices can be used to characterize the solutions in high magnetic fields, giving insight into the underlying internal structure of the electronic wave function. ©2005 The American Physical Society.