A quantized vortex in Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of an alkali-metal atom gas is known to be unstable intrinsically at zero temperature. We examine two stabilization mechanisms of a vortex theoretically. (i) The finite temperature effect is shown to stabilize a vortex. (ii) An additional pinning potential, which may be produced by a focused laser beam at the vortex center, is also shown to stabilize it even at zero temperature. The mean-field calculation for BEC confined by a harmonic potential is employed. The detailed properties of a stable vortex are given, such as the spatial profiles of the condensate and noncondensate, the particle current density around the core, the whole excitation spectrum, and their temperature dependence.

• Received 15 July 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.59.2203