Twisted phonons in Bose–Einstein condensates

We consider elementary excitations in a Bose–Einstein condensate, carrying a finite amount of angular momentum. We show that these elementary excitations are modified Bogoliubov oscillations or phonons with a helical wave structure. These twisted phonon modes can contribute to the total vorticity in a quantum fluid, thus complementing the contribution of the traditional quantum vortices. Linear and nonlinear versions of twisted phonon modes will be discussed. New envelope soliton solutions are shown to exist in a condensate. (paper)