Manipulating nonlinear excitations, including solitons and vortices, is an essential topic in quantum many-body physics. A new progress in this direction is a protocol proposed in [Phys. Rev. Res. 2 043256 (2020)] to produce dark solitons in a one-dimensional atomic Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) by quenching inter-atomic interaction. Motivated by this work, we generalize the protocol to a two-dimensional BEC and investigate the generic scenario of its post-quench dynamics. For an isotropic disk trap with a hard-wall boundary, we find that successive inward-moving ring dark solitons (RDSs) can be induced from the edge, and the number of RDSs can be controlled by tuning the ratio of the after- and before-quench interaction strength across different critical values. The role of the quench played on the profiles of the density, phase, and sound velocity is also investigated. Due to the snake instability, the RDSs then become vortex–antivortex pairs with peculiar dynamics managed by the initial density and the after-quench interaction. By tuning the geometry of the box traps, demonstrated as polygonal ones, more subtle dynamics of solitons and vortices are enabled. Our proposed protocol and the discovered rich dynamical effects on nonlinear excitations can be realized in near future cold-atom experiments.
Manipulating nonlinear excitations, including solitons and vortices, is an essential topic in quantum many-body physics. A new progress in this direction is a protocol proposed in [Phys. Rev. Res. 2 043256 (2020)] to produce dark solitons in a one-dimensional atomic Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) by quenching inter-atomic interaction. Motivated by this work, we generalize the protocol to a two-dimensional BEC and investigate the generic scenario of its post-quench dynamics. For an isotropic disk trap with a hard-wall boundary, we find that successive inward-moving ring dark solitons (RDSs) can be induced from the edge, and the number of RDSs can be controlled by tuning the ratio of the after- and before-quench interaction strength across different critical values. The role of the quench played on the profiles of the density, phase, and sound velocity is also investigated. Due to the snake instability, the RDSs then become vortex–antivortex pairs with peculiar dynamics managed by the initial density and the after-quench interaction. By tuning the geometry of the box traps, demonstrated as polygonal ones, more subtle dynamics of solitons and vortices are enabled. Our proposed protocol and the discovered rich dynamical effects on nonlinear excitations can be realized in near future cold-atom experiments.
By quenching the interatomic interactions, we investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensates in boxlike traps with power-law potential boundaries. We show that ring dark solitons can be excited during the quench dynamics for both concave and convex potentials. The quench’s modulation strength and the steepness of the boundary are two major factors influencing the system’s evolution. In terms of the number of ring dark solitons excited in the condensate, five dynamic regimes have been identified. The condensate undergoes damped radius oscillation in the absence of ring dark soliton excitations. When it comes to the appearance of ring dark solitons, their decay produces interesting structures. The excitation patterns for the concave potential show a nested structure of vortex-antivortex pairs. The dynamic excitation patterns for the convex potential, on the other hand, show richer structures with multiple transport behaviors.
In this Thesis, we study various aspects of ring dark solitons (RDSs) in quasi-two-dimensional toroidally trapped Bose-Einstein condensates, focussing on atomic realisations thereof. Unlike the well-known planar dark solitons, exact analytic expressions for RDSs are not known. We address this problem by presenting exact localized soliton-like solutions to the radial Gross-Pitaevskii equation. To date, RDSs have not been experimentally observed in cold atomic gases, either. To this end, we propose two protocols for their creation in experiments. It is also currently well known that in dimensions higher than one, (ring) dark solitons are susceptible, in general, to an irreversible decay into vortex-antivortex pairs through the snake instability. We show that the snake instability is caused by an unbalanced quantum pressure across the soliton's notch, linking the instability to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes spectrum. In particular, if the angular symmetry is maintained (or the toroidal trapping is restrictive enough), we show that the RDS is stable (long-lived with a lifetime of order seconds) in two dimensions. Furthermore, when the decay does take place, we show that the snake instability can in fact be reversible, and predict a previously unknown revival phenomenon for the original (many-)RDS system: the soliton structure is recovered and all the point-phase singularities (i.e. vortices) disappear. Eventually, however, the decay leads to an example of quantum turbulence; a quantum example of the laminar-to-turbulent type of transition.
Soliton is an exotic topological excitation, and it widely exists in various nonlinear systems, such as nonlinear optics, Bose-Einstein condensates, classical and quantum fluids, plasma, magnetic materials, etc. A stable soliton can propagate with constant amplitude and velocity, and maintain its shape. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional solitons are usually hard to stabilize, and how to realize stable two-dimensional or three-dimensional solitons has aroused the great interest of the researchers. Ring dark soliton is a kind of two-dimensional soliton, which was first theoretically predicted and experimentally realized in nonlinear optical systems. Compared with the usual two-dimensional solitons, ring dark solitons have good stability and rich dynamical behaviors. Owing to their highly controllable capability, Bose-Einstein condensates provide a new platform for studying the ring dark solitons. Based on the recent progress in Bose-Einstein condensates and solitons, this paper reviews the research on the analytic solutions, stability, as well as the decay dynamics of ring dark solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates. A transform method is introduced, which generalizes the analytic solutions of ring dark solitons from a homogeneous system with time-independent nonlinearity to a harmonically trapped inhomogeneous system with time-dependent nonlinearity. The stability phase diagram of the ring dark soliton under deformation perturbations is discussed by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equations in the mean-field theory. A method of enhancing the stability of ring dark solitons by periodically modulating the nonlinear coefficients is introduced. It is also shown that the periodically modulated nonlinear coefficient can be experimentally realized by the Feshbach resonance technology. In addition, we discuss the dynamics of the decay of ring dark solitons. It is found that the ring dark soliton can decay into various vortex clusters composed of vortices and antivortices. This opens a new avenue to the investigation of vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence. It is also found that the ring dark solitons combined with periodic modulated nonlinearity can give rise to the pattern formation, which is an interesting nonlinear phenomenon widely explored in all the fields of nature. Finally, some possible research subjects about ring dark solitons in future research are also discussed.
We investigate the dynamics and pattern formation of two ring dark solitons in a two-dimensional binary Bose-Einstein condensate with tunable intercomponent interaction via numerical simulation of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Both the black and gray ring dark solitons are considered for cases where the modulation frequency of the intercomponent interaction is resonant or nonresonant with the one of the trapping potential. Our results show that in the presence of periodic modulation of the intercomponent interaction not only are the lifetimes of the ring dark solitons largely extended but also their decaying dynamics are dramatically affected. Before snaking instability sets in, new ring dark solitons are formed, and both the numbers and depths of the ring dark solitons exhibit collective oscillations. With the development of instability, the system exhibits different decaying processes, and a variety of decay profiles, such as vortex necklace, distorted octagon, vortex-antivortex ring, and cross, are formed, showing a strong dependence on the modulation frequency of the intercomponent interaction and the initial depth of the ring dark soliton.
We consider, both analytically and numerically, the evolution of two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear matter-wave pulses in a Bose-Einstein condensate with a disk-shaped trap and repulsive atom-atom interactions. Due to the strong confinement in the axial direction the sound speed of the system is c=(1/21/4)c0, where c0 is the corresponding value without the trap. From the 3D order-parameter equation of the condensate, we derive a soliton-bearing Kadomtsev-Petriashvili equation with positive dispersion. When the trapping potential is weak in two transverse directions, a low-depth plane dark soliton can propagate in the condensate with a changing profile but preserving its structure down to the boundary of the condensate. We show that high-depth plane dark solitons are unstable to long-wavelength transverse disturbances. The instability appears as a longitudinal modulation of the soliton amplitude decaying into vortices. We also show how a dark lumplike 2D nonlinear excitation can be excited in the system. Furthermore, a dark lump decaying algebraically in two spatial directions can propagate rather stable in the condensate, but disappears near the boundary of the condensate where two vortices are nucleated. The vortices move in opposite directions along the boundary and when meeting merge creating a new lump. Finally, we also provide results for head-on and oblique collisions of two lumps in the system.
Dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates support intriguing macroscopic excitations in the form of quantized vortices and dark solitons. In this thesis we present extensive quantitative studies of the dynamics of these phenomena in the limit of zero temperature, performed by numerical simulation of the Gross- Pitaevskii equation. We show that vortices and dark solitons are inherently unstable to acceleration through the condensate, leading to the emission of sound waves. Indeed, for a single vortex/soliton, the power emitted is proportional to the square of the local acceleration. However, due to the finite size of the condensate, the vortex/soliton reinteracts with the emitted sound. This coupling has an important effect on the ensuing dynamics, and we illustrate how it can be engineered to induce net decay, stabilise, or even drive energy into the vortex/soliton. Under the harmonic confinement typically employed to trap the condensates, the acceleration-induced decay is stabilised by reabsorption of the emitted sound. However, by modifying the trap geometry, e.g. by adding an inner dimple in which the soliton resides or an optical lattice potential, it is possible to break this equilibrium and so induce a net decay of the vortex/soliton in a controllable manner. The decay rate can be considerable and should be observable under current experimental conditions. The dynamical stability of quantized vortices is also relevant to the field of turbulence in superfluid Helium, where the motion of the vortices is induced by the surrounding distribution of vortices rather than density. We extend these results to this field, and additionally consider the interactions between two and three vortices, which are also found to involve sound emission. By exciting the sound field of the condensate it is possible to drive parametrically energy into a dark soliton. In a real dissipative environment, this can be used to stabilise the soliton decay. Finally, we illustrate the links between dark solitons and vortices: a dark soliton embedded in a three-dimensional system is prone to decay into vortex rings, while a vortex in a quasi-one-dimensional geometry cannot be supported and exists as a hybrid between a vortex and dark soliton, known as a solitonic vortex.