Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2104.15089 · Physical Review A

Atomic bright vector soliton as an active particle

Timo Eichmann, J. R. Anglin

Published Oct 22, 2021• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Solitons in general are configurations of extended fields which move like isolated particles. Vector bright solitons can occur in a two-component self-attractive Bose-Einstein condensate. If the components of the condensate have different chemical potentials, the total spin of the soliton can serve as an internal energy depot that makes the soliton into an active particle, able to move against an external force using energy carried within the particle---if there is a dynamical mechanism for steadily transferring energy from soliton spin into soliton motion. Here we present such a dynamical mechanism, embed it in an experimentally feasible way within the larger system of a spinor condensate mean field, and show how the mechanism works to realize a solitonic active particle. In what can be considered a toy model for the project of going beyond toy models for active particles, we test the robustness of the activity mechanism by exploring a range of deformations to the simplest model for embedding the nonlinear mechanism in the condensate system.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.104.043317

Related papers

Dynamics of dark-bright vector solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates

M. O. D. Alotaibi, Lincoln D. Carr

We analyze the dynamics of two-component vector solitons, namely, dark-bright solitons, via the variational approximation in Bose-Einstein condensates. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation appropriate to multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates. The variational approximation is based on a hyperbolic tangent (hyperbolic secant) for the dark (bright) component, which leads to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the ansatz parameters. We obtain the oscillation dynamics of two-component dark-bright solitons. Analytical calculations are performed for same-width components in the vector soliton, and numerical calculations extend the results to arbitrary widths. We calculate the binding energy of the system and find it to be proportional to the intercomponent coupling interaction and numerically demonstrate the breakup or unbinding of a dark-bright soliton. Our calculations explore observable eigenmodes, namely, the internal oscillation eigenmode and the Goldstone eigenmode. We find analytically that the number of atoms in the bright component is required to be less than the number of atoms displaced by the dark soliton in the other component in order to find the internal oscillation eigenmode of the vector soliton and support the existence of the dark-bright soliton. This outcome is confirmed by numerical results. Numerically, we find that the oscillation frequency is amplitude independent. For dark-bright solitons in $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ we find that the oscillation frequency range is 90 to 405 Hz and therefore observable in multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensate experiments.

arXiv:1607.00108•Physical Review A•Jul 5, 2017•30 citations

Spin mixing induced dynamics of spinor solitons in $F=1$ Bose Einstein condensates

T. Panagos, A. Romero-Ros, G. C. Katsimiga +2 more

We explore soliton interactions in a homogeneous spinor $F=1$ Bose Einstein Condensate (BEC) in the presence of a magnetic field, focusing on dark bright dark and bright dark bright configurations. We investigate how these interactions depend on the phase differences among bright solitons and their influence during the dynamics. Our findings align with prior non spinor results, i.e., repulsion among in phase bright solitons and attraction among out of phase pairs in self repulsive atomic BECs. The potential bright soliton attraction, added to the short range repulsion of dark dark soliton interactions, can lead to bound states. However, we find that these bound states break in the presence of spinor interactions due to the particle exchange dynamics between the hyperfine states of the components. Additonally, we develop an effective classical model to describe the soliton dynamics, using a Lagrangian approach. The accuracy of the model is tested by comparing it against numerical simulations. Our results suggest that the proposed model captures the essential features of soliton behavior in the presence of spin interactions, and provides congruent soliton trajectories and interspecies particle exchange dynamics in most of the cases.

cond-mat.quant-gasCross-listedarXiv:2606.14231•APS Open Science•Jun 15, 2026•0 citations

Magnetic Solitons in a Spin-1 Bose-Einstein Condensate

Xiao Chai, Di Lao, Kazuya Fujimoto +3 more

Vector solitons are a type of solitary or nonspreading wave packet occurring in a nonlinear medium composed of multiple components. As such, a variety of synthetic systems can be constructed to explore their properties, from nonlinear optics to ultracold atoms, and even in metamaterials. Bose-Einstein condensates have a rich panoply of internal hyperfine levels, or spin components, which make them a unique platform for exploring these solitary waves. However, existing experimental work has focused largely on binary systems confined to the Manakov limit of the nonlinear equations governing the soliton behavior, where quantum magnetism plays no role. Here we observe, using a "magnetic shadowing" technique, a new type of soliton in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, one that exists only when the underlying interactions are antiferromagnetic and which is deeply embedded within a full spin-1 quantum system. Our approach opens up a vista for future studies of "solitonic matter" whereby multiple solitons interact with one another at deterministic locations.

arXiv:1912.06672•Physical Review Letters•Jul 15, 2020•80 citations

Three-dimensional vortex-bright solitons in a spin-orbit-coupled spin-1 condensate

Sandeep Gautam, Sadhan K. Adhikari

We demonstrate stable and metastable vortex-bright solitons in a three-dimensional spin-orbit-coupled three-component hyperfine spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) using numerical solution and variational approximation of a mean-field model. The spin-orbit coupling provides attraction to form vortex-bright solitons in both attractive and repulsive spinor BECs. The ground state of these vortex-bright solitons is axially symmetric for weak polar interaction. For a sufficiently strong ferromagnetic interaction, we observe the emergence of a fully asymmetric vortex-bright soliton as the ground state. We also numerically investigate moving solitons. The present mean-field model is not Galilean invariant, and we use a Galilean-transformed mean-field model for generating the moving solitons.

arXiv:1712.09337•Physical Review A•Jan 25, 2018•55 citations

Exact Analysis of Soliton Dynamics in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

Jun’ichi Ieda, Takahiko Miyakawa, Miki Wadati

We propose an integrable model of a multicomponent spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in one dimension, which allows an exact description of the dynamics of bright solitons with spin degrees of freedom. We consider specifically an atomic condensate in the F=1 hyperfine state confined by an optical dipole trap. When the mean-field interaction is attractive (c(0)<0) and the spin-exchange interaction of a spinor condensate is ferromagnetic (c(2)<0), we prove that the system possesses a completely integrable point leading to the existence of multiple bright solitons. By applying results from the inverse scattering method, we analyze a collision law for two-soliton solutions and find that the dynamics can be explained in terms of the spin precession.

arXiv:cond-mat/0404569•Physical Review Letters•Nov 4, 2004•263 citations

Moving bright solitons in a pseudo-spin polarization Bose–Einstein condensate

Tian-Fu Xu, Yu-Feng Zhang, Lei-Chao Xu +1 more

We study the moving bright solitons in the weak attractive Bose–Einstein condensate with a spin–orbit interaction. By solving the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the variational method and the imaginary time evolution method, two kinds of solitons (plane wave soliton and stripe solitons) are found in different parameter regions. It is shown that the soliton speed dominates its structure. The detuning between the Raman beam and energy states of the atoms decides the spin polarization strength of the system. The soliton dynamics is also studied for various moving speed and we find that the shape of individual components can be kept when the speed of soliton is low.

Chinese Physics B•Sep 1, 2017•8 citations
Solitons in general are configurations of extended fields which move like isolated particles. Vector bright solitons can occur in a two-component self-attractive Bose-Einstein condensate. If the components of the condensate have different chemical potentials, the total spin of the soliton can serve as an internal energy depot that makes the soliton into an active particle, able to move against an external force using energy carried within the particle---if there is a dynamical mechanism for steadily transferring energy from soliton spin into soliton motion. Here we present such a dynamical mechanism, embed it in an experimentally feasible way within the larger system of a spinor condensate mean field, and show how the mechanism works to realize a solitonic active particle. In what can be considered a toy model for the project of going beyond toy models for active particles, we test the robustness of the activity mechanism by exploring a range of deformations to the simplest model for embedding the nonlinear mechanism in the condensate system.
We analyze the dynamics of two-component vector solitons, namely, dark-bright solitons, via the variational approximation in Bose-Einstein condensates. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation appropriate to multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates. The variational approximation is based on a hyperbolic tangent (hyperbolic secant) for the dark (bright) component, which leads to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the ansatz parameters. We obtain the oscillation dynamics of two-component dark-bright solitons. Analytical calculations are performed for same-width components in the vector soliton, and numerical calculations extend the results to arbitrary widths. We calculate the binding energy of the system and find it to be proportional to the intercomponent coupling interaction and numerically demonstrate the breakup or unbinding of a dark-bright soliton. Our calculations explore observable eigenmodes, namely, the internal oscillation eigenmode and the Goldstone eigenmode. We find analytically that the number of atoms in the bright component is required to be less than the number of atoms displaced by the dark soliton in the other component in order to find the internal oscillation eigenmode of the vector soliton and support the existence of the dark-bright soliton. This outcome is confirmed by numerical results. Numerically, we find that the oscillation frequency is amplitude independent. For dark-bright solitons in 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb we find that the oscillation frequency range is 90 to 405 Hz and therefore observable in multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensate experiments.
Spin mixing induced dynamics of spinor solitons in F=1F=1F=1 Bose Einstein condensates
We explore soliton interactions in a homogeneous spinor F=1F=1F=1 Bose Einstein Condensate (BEC) in the presence of a magnetic field, focusing on dark bright dark and bright dark bright configurations. We investigate how these interactions depend on the phase differences among bright solitons and their influence during the dynamics. Our findings align with prior non spinor results, i.e., repulsion among in phase bright solitons and attraction among out of phase pairs in self repulsive atomic BECs. The potential bright soliton attraction, added to the short range repulsion of dark dark soliton interactions, can lead to bound states. However, we find that these bound states break in the presence of spinor interactions due to the particle exchange dynamics between the hyperfine states of the components. Additonally, we develop an effective classical model to describe the soliton dynamics, using a Lagrangian approach. The accuracy of the model is tested by comparing it against numerical simulations. Our results suggest that the proposed model captures the essential features of soliton behavior in the presence of spin interactions, and provides congruent soliton trajectories and interspecies particle exchange dynamics in most of the cases.
Vector solitons are a type of solitary or nonspreading wave packet occurring in a nonlinear medium composed of multiple components. As such, a variety of synthetic systems can be constructed to explore their properties, from nonlinear optics to ultracold atoms, and even in metamaterials. Bose-Einstein condensates have a rich panoply of internal hyperfine levels, or spin components, which make them a unique platform for exploring these solitary waves. However, existing experimental work has focused largely on binary systems confined to the Manakov limit of the nonlinear equations governing the soliton behavior, where quantum magnetism plays no role. Here we observe, using a "magnetic shadowing" technique, a new type of soliton in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, one that exists only when the underlying interactions are antiferromagnetic and which is deeply embedded within a full spin-1 quantum system. Our approach opens up a vista for future studies of "solitonic matter" whereby multiple solitons interact with one another at deterministic locations.
We demonstrate stable and metastable vortex-bright solitons in a three-dimensional spin-orbit-coupled three-component hyperfine spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) using numerical solution and variational approximation of a mean-field model. The spin-orbit coupling provides attraction to form vortex-bright solitons in both attractive and repulsive spinor BECs. The ground state of these vortex-bright solitons is axially symmetric for weak polar interaction. For a sufficiently strong ferromagnetic interaction, we observe the emergence of a fully asymmetric vortex-bright soliton as the ground state. We also numerically investigate moving solitons. The present mean-field model is not Galilean invariant, and we use a Galilean-transformed mean-field model for generating the moving solitons.
We propose an integrable model of a multicomponent spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in one dimension, which allows an exact description of the dynamics of bright solitons with spin degrees of freedom. We consider specifically an atomic condensate in the F=1 hyperfine state confined by an optical dipole trap. When the mean-field interaction is attractive (c(0)<0) and the spin-exchange interaction of a spinor condensate is ferromagnetic (c(2)<0), we prove that the system possesses a completely integrable point leading to the existence of multiple bright solitons. By applying results from the inverse scattering method, we analyze a collision law for two-soliton solutions and find that the dynamics can be explained in terms of the spin precession.
We study the moving bright solitons in the weak attractive Bose–Einstein condensate with a spin–orbit interaction. By solving the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the variational method and the imaginary time evolution method, two kinds of solitons (plane wave soliton and stripe solitons) are found in different parameter regions. It is shown that the soliton speed dominates its structure. The detuning between the Raman beam and energy states of the atoms decides the spin polarization strength of the system. The soliton dynamics is also studied for various moving speed and we find that the shape of individual components can be kept when the speed of soliton is low.