Bose–Einstein condensation transition studies for atoms confined in Laguerre–Gaussian laser modes

Multiply-connected traps for cold, neutral atoms fix vortex cores of quantum gases. Laguerre–Gaussian laser modes are ideal for such traps due to their phase stability. We report theoretical calculations of the Bose–Einstein condensation transition properties and thermal characteristics of neutral atoms trapped in multiply connected geometries formed by Laguerre–Gaussian (LGpl) beams. Specifically, we consider atoms confined to the anti-node of a LG01 laser mode detuned to the red of an atomic resonance frequency, and those confined in the node of a blue-detuned LG11 beam. We compare the results of using the full potential to those approximating the potential minimum with a simple harmonic oscillator potential. We find that deviations between calculations of the full potential and the simple harmonic oscillator can be up to 3%–8% for trap parameters consistent with typical experiments.