We have created a long-lived (≈40 s) persistent current in a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate held in an all-optical trap. A repulsive optical barrier across one side of the torus creates a tunable weak link in the condensate circuit, which can affect the current around the loop. Superflow stops abruptly at a barrier strength such that the local flow velocity at the barrier exceeds a critical velocity. The measured critical velocity is consistent with dissipation due to the creation of vortex-antivortex pairs. This system is the first realization of an elementary closed-loop atom circuit.

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 3 and is essential in rf-superconducting quantum interference devices [SQUIDs] 4 . Furthermore, hysteresis is as fundamental to superfluidity 5 (and superconductivity) as quantized persistent currents [6][7][8] , critical velocity [9][10][11][12][13][14] , and Josephson effects 15,16 . Nevertheless, in spite of multiple theoretical predictions 5,[17][18][19] , 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 20 and indirectly in systems that showed quantized flow 21,22 . Our techniques allow us to tune the size of the hysteresis loop and to consider the fundamental excitations that accompany hysteresis. The 1 arXiv:1402.2958v2 [cond-mat.quant-gas]

We have observed well-defined phase slips between quantized persistent current states around a toroidal atomic (23Na) Bose-Einstein condensate. These phase slips are induced by a weak link (a localized region of reduced superfluid density) rotated slowly around the ring. This is analogous to the behavior of a superconducting loop with a weak link in the presence of an external magnetic field. When the weak link is rotated more rapidly, well-defined phase slips no longer occur, and vortices enter into the bulk of the condensate. A noteworthy feature of this system is the ability to dynamically vary the current-phase relation of the weak link, a feature which is difficult to implement in superconducting or superfluid helium circuits.