Ground-state phase diagram of a dipolar condensate with quantum fluctuations

Abstract

We consider the ground state properties of a trapped dipolar condensate under the influence of quantum fluctuations. We show that this system can undergo a phase transition from a low density condensate state to a high density droplet state, which is stabilized by quantum fluctuations. The energetically favored state depends on the geometry of the confining potential, the number of atoms, and the two-body interactions. We develop a simple variational ansatz and validate it against full numerical solutions. We produce a phase diagram for the system and present results relevant to current experiments with dysprosium and erbium condensates.