arXiv:1102.2121 · Physical Review Letters

Rydberg-Induced Solitons: Three-Dimensional Self-Trapping of Matter Waves

Fabian Maucher, Nils Henkel, Mark E. Saffman, Wieslaw Z. Krolikowski, Stefan Skupin, Thomas Pohl

Published Apr 26, 2011• 138 citations

Abstract

We propose a scheme for the creation of stable three-dimensional bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates, i.e., the matter-wave analog of so-called spatiotemporal "light bullets." Off-resonant dressing to Rydberg nD states is shown to provide nonlocal attractive interactions, leading to self-trapping of mesoscopic atomic clouds by a collective excitation of a Rydberg atom pair. We present detailed potential calculations and demonstrate the existence of stable solitons under realistic experimental conditions by means of numerical simulations.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.106.170401

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