Emergence and stability of vortex clusters in Bose–Einstein condensates: A bifurcation approach near the linear limit

We study the existence and stability properties of clusters of alternating charge vortices in repulsive Bose–Einstein condensates. It is illustrated that such states emerge from cascades of symmetry-breaking bifurcations that can be analytically tracked near the linear limit of the system via weakly nonlinear few-mode expansions. We present the resulting states that emerge near the first few eigenvalues of the linear limit, and illustrate how the nature of the bifurcations can be used to understand their stability. Rectilinear, polygonal and diagonal vortex clusters are only some of the obtained states while mixed states, consisting of dark solitons and vortex clusters, are identified as well. We also explore the evolution of unstable states and their transient dynamics exploring configurations of nearby bifurcation branches.

► Bifurcations of vortex clusters in Bose–Einstein condensates are tracked near the linear limit via few-mode expansions. ► Bifurcations are identified that connect dark soliton stripe states with lines of vortices. ► Similarly, dark soliton rings are connected via bifurcations with vortex polygons.