Supersolitons: Solitonic Excitations in Atomic Soliton Chains (original) (raw)
Related papers
Collisions of matter-wave solitons
Nature Physics, 2014
Solitons are localised wave disturbances that propagate without changing shape, a result of a nonlinear interaction which compensates for wave packet dispersion. Individual solitons may collide, but a defining feature is that they pass through one another and emerge from the collision unaltered in shape, amplitude, or velocity. This remarkable property is mathematically a consequence of the underlying integrability of the one-dimensional (1D) equations, such as the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, that describe solitons in a variety of wave contexts, including matter-waves 1, 2 . Here we explore the nature of soliton collisions using Bose-Einstein condensates of atoms with attractive interactions confined to a quasione-dimensional waveguide. We show by real-time imaging that a collision between solitons is a complex event that differs markedly depending on the relative phase between the solitons. Yet, they emerge from the collision unaltered in shape or amplitude, but with a new trajectory reflecting a discontinuous jump. By controlling the strength of the nonlinearity we shed new light on these fundamental features of soliton collisional dynamics, and explore the 1 arXiv:1407.5087v1 [cond-mat.quant-gas] 18 Jul 2014 implications of collisions that bring the wave packets out of the realm of integrability, where they may undergo catastrophic collapse.
Physical Review A, 2007
We demonstrate that a symmetric system of two linearly coupled waveguides, with Kerr nonlinearity and resonant grating in both of them, gives rise to a family of symmetric and antisymmetric solitons in an exact analytical form, a part of which exists outside of the bandgap in the system's spectrum, i.e., they may be regarded as embedded solitons (ES's, i.e., the ones partly overlapping with the continuous spectrum). Parameters of the family are the soliton's amplitude and velocity. Asymmetric ES's, unlike the regular (nonembedded) gap solitons (GS's), do not exist in the system. Moreover, ES's exist even in the case when the system's spectrum contains no bandgap. The main issue is the stability of the solitons. We demonstrate that some symmetric ES's are stable, while all the antisymmetric solitons are unstable; an explanation is given to the latter property, based on the consideration of the system's Hamiltonian. We produce a full stability diagram, which comprises both embedded and regular solitons, quiescent and moving. A stability region for ES's is found around the point where the constant of the linear coupling between the two cores is equal to the Bragg-reflectivity coefficient accounting for the linear conversion between the right- and left-traveling waves in each core, i.e., the ES's are the "most endemic" solitary solitons in this system. The stability region quickly shrinks with the increase of the soliton's velocity c, and completely disappears when c exceeds half the maximum velocity. Collisions between stable moving solitons of various types are also considered, with a conclusion that the collisions are always quasielastic.
Solitons in atomic chains with long-range interactions
Physics Letters A, 1994
Nonlinear solitary excitations are studied in an anharmonic chain with cubic or Toda nearest-neighbor interaction and exponentially decaying harmonic long-range interactions. Analytic expressions are obtained for the cubic interatomic potential, and the results are in qualitative agreement with numerical simulations. The relation of amplitude and velocity is quite different to a lattice without long-range forces especially near the speed of sound with the possibility of multiple solutions for a given velocity.
Physical Review A, 2013
We propose a method for the generation of trains of alternating bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates, using controlled emission of nonlinear matter waves in the uncoupled regime with spatially varying intraspecies interaction and out-of-phase oscillations of the ground states in the trap. Under this scheme, solitons are sequentially launched from the different components and interact with each other through phase-independent cross coupling. We obtain an analytical estimation of the critical condition for soliton emission using a geometric guiding model, in analogy with integrated optical systems. In addition, we show how strong initial perturbations in the system can trigger the spontaneous generation of supersolitons, i.e., localized phononlike excitations of the soliton trains. Finally, we demonstrate the controllable generation of slow and fast supersolitons by adding external localized potentials in the nonlinear region.
Physical Review A, 2006
By means of analytical and numerical methods, we study how the residual three-dimensionality affects dynamics of solitons in an attractive Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a cigar-shaped trap. Based on an effective 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation that includes an additional quintic selffocusing term, generated by the tight transverse confinement, we find a family of exact one-soliton solutions and demonstrate stability of the entire family, despite the possibility of collapse in the 1D equation with the quintic self-focusing nonlinearity. Simulating collisions between two solitons in the same setting, we find a critical velocity, Vc, below which merger of identical in-phase solitons is observed. Dependence of Vc on the strength of the transverse confinement and number of atoms in the solitons is predicted by means of the perturbation theory and investigated in direct simulations. The simulations also demonstrate symmetry breaking in collisions of identical solitons with a nonzero phase difference. This effect is qualitatively explained by means of an analytical approximation.
Physical Review A, 2009
We study families of one-dimensional matter-wave bright solitons supported by the competition of contact and dipole-dipole (DD) interactions of opposite signs. Soliton families are found, and their stability is investigated in the free space, and in the presence of an optical lattice (OL). Freespace solitons may exist with an arbitrarily weak local attraction if the strength of the DD repulsion is fixed. In the case of the DD attraction, solitons do not exist beyond a maximum value of the local-repulsion strength. In the system which includes the OL, a stability region for subfundamental solitons (SFSs) is found in the second finite bandgap. For the existence of gap solitons (GSs) under the attractive DD interaction, the contact repulsion must be strong enough. In the opposite case of the DD repulsion, GSs exist if the contact attraction is not too strong. Collisions between solitons in the free space are studied too. In the case of the local attraction, they merge or pass through each other at small and large velocities, respectively. In the presence of the local repulsion, slowly moving solitons bounce from each other.
Soliton “molecules”: Robust clusters of spatiotemporal optical solitons
Physical Review E, 2003
We show how to generate robust self-sustained clusters of soliton bullets---spatiotemporal (optical or matter-wave) solitons. The clusters carry an orbital angular momentum being supported by competing nonlinearities. The ``atoms'' forming the ``molecule'' are fully three-dimensional solitons linked via a staircaselike macroscopic phase. Recent progress in generating atomic-molecular coherent mixing in the Bose-Einstein condensates might open potential scenarios for the experimental
Bright solitary-matter-wave collisions in a harmonic trap: Regimes of solitonlike behavior
Physical Review A, 2008
Systems of solitary-waves in the 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which models a trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, are investigated theoretically. To analyse the soliton-like nature of these solitary-waves, a particle analogy for the solitary-waves is formulated. Exact soliton solutions exist in the absence of an external trapping potential, which behave in a particle-like manner, and we find the particle analogy we employ to be a good model also when a harmonic trapping potential is present. In the case of two solitons, the particle model is integrable, and the dynamics are completely regular. The extension to three particles supports chaotic regimes. The agreement between the particle model and the wave dynamics remains good even in chaotic regimes. In the case of a system of two solitary waves of equal norm, the solitons are shown to retain their phase difference for repeated collisions. This implies that soliton-like regimes may be found in 3D geometries where solitary waves can be made to repeatedly collide out of phase, stabilising the condensate against collapse.
Soliton \molecules\: robust clusters of light bullets
We show how to generate robust self-sustained clusters of soliton bullets-spatiotemporal (optical or matter-wave) solitons. The clusters carry an orbital angular momentum being supported by competing nonlinearities. The "atoms" forming the "molecule" are fully three-dimensional solitons linked via a staircase-like macroscopic phase. Recent progress in generating atomic-molecular coherent mixing in Bose-Einstein condensates might open potential scenarios for the experimental generation of these soliton molecules with matter-waves.
New Journal of Physics, 2013
We study experimentally and theoretically the dynamics of apparent dark soliton stripes in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate. We show that for the trapping strengths corresponding to our experimental setup, the transverse confinement along one of the tight directions is not strong enough to arrest the formation of solitonic vortices or vortex rings. These solitonic vortices and vortex rings, when integrated along the transverse direction, appear as dark soliton stripes along the longitudinal direction thereby hiding their true character. The latter significantly modifies the interaction dynamics during collision events and can lead to apparent examples of inelasticity and what may appear experimentally even as a merger of two dark soliton stripes. We explain this feature by means of the interaction of two solitonic vortices leading to a sling shot event with one of the solitonic vortices being ejected at a relatively large speed. Furthermore we observe expanding collision bubbles which consist of repeated inelastic collisions of a dark soliton stripe pair with an increasing time interval between collisions.