arXiv:1609.08499 · Physical Review A
Magnetic solitons in Rabi-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates
Chunlei Qu, Marek Tylutki, S. Stringari, Лев П. Питаевский
Abstract
We study magnetic solitons, solitary waves of spin polarization (i.e., magnetization), in binary Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of Rabi coupling. We show that the system exhibits two types of magnetic solitons, called $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ and $0\ensuremath{\pi}$ solitons, characterized by a different behavior of the relative phase between the two spin components. $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ solitons exhibit a $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ jump of the relative phase, independent of their velocity, the static domain wall explored by Son and Stephanov being an example of such $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ solitons with vanishing velocity and magnetization. $0\ensuremath{\pi}$ solitons instead do not exhibit any asymptotic jump in the relative phase. Systematic results are provided for both types of solitons in uniform matter. Numerical calculations in the presence of a one-dimensional harmonic trap reveal that a $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ soliton evolves in time into a $0\ensuremath{\pi}$ soliton, and vice versa, oscillating around the center of the trap. Results for the effective mass, the Landau critical velocity, and the role of the transverse confinement are also discussed.