Small Numbers of Vortices in Anisotropic Traps

We investigate the appearance of vortices and vortex lattices in two-dimensional, anisotropic and rotating Bose-Einstein condensates. Once the anisotropy reaches a critical value, the positions of the vortex cores in the ground state are no longer given by an Abrikosov lattice geometry, but by a linear arrangement. Using a variational approach, we determine the critical stirring frequency for a single vortex as well as the equilibrium positions of a small number of vortices.