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Hysteresis in a quantized, superfluid atomtronic circuit

Atomtronics is an emerging interdisciplinary field that seeks new functionality by creating devices and circuits where ultra-cold atoms, often superfluids, play a role analogous to the electrons in electronics. Hysteresis is widely used in electronic circuits, e.g., it is routinely observed in superconducting circuits and is essential in rf-superconducting quantum interference devices [SQUIDs]. Furthermore, hysteresis is as fundamental to superfluidity (and superconductivity) as quantized persistent currents, critical velocity, and Josephson effects. Nevertheless, in spite of multiple theoretical predictions, hysteresis has not been previously observed in any superfluid, atomic-gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Here we demonstrate hysteresis in a quantized atomtronic circuit: a ring of superfluid BEC obstructed by a rotating weak link. We directly detect hysteresis between quantized circulation states, in contrast to superfluid liquid helium experiments that observed hysteresis directly in systems where the quantization of flow could not be observed and indirectly in systems that showed quantized flow. Our techniques allow us to tune the size of the hysteresis loop and to consider the fundamental excitations that accompany hysteresis. The results suggest that the relevant excitations involved in hysteresis are vortices and indicate that dissipation plays an important role in the dynamics. Controlled hysteresis in atomtronic circuits may prove to be a crucial feature for the development of practical devices, just as it has in electronic circuits like memory, digital noise filters (e.g., Schmitt triggers), and magnetometers (e.g., SQUIDs).