Finite-temperature spin dynamics of a two-dimensional Bose-Bose atomic mixture

Abstract

We examine the role of thermal fluctuations in uniform two-dimensional binary Bose mixtures of dilute ultracold atomic gases. We use a mean-field Hartree-Fock theory to derive analytical predictions for the miscible-immiscible transition. A nontrivial result of this theory is that a fully miscible phase at T=0 may become unstable at T≠0, as a consequence of a divergent behavior in the spin susceptibility. We test this prediction by performing numerical simulations with the stochastic (projected) Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which includes beyond mean-field effects. We calculate the equilibrium configurations at different temperatures and interaction strengths and we simulate spin oscillations produced by a weak external perturbation. Despite some qualitative agreement, the comparison between the two theories shows that the mean-field approximation is not able to properly describe the behavior of the two-dimensional mixture near the miscible-immiscible transition, as thermal fluctuations smoothen all sharp features both in the phase diagram and in spin dynamics, except for temperature well below the critical temperature for superfluidity.