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arXiv:2507.01157

Dynamics of a dark soliton in a curved 1D Bose-Einstein condensate

Jorge A. G. Attie, E. A. L. Henn

Published Jul 1, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

We investigate the nonlinear dynamics of dark solitons in a one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate confined to a curved geometry. Using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in curvilinear coordinates and a perturbative expansion in the local curvature, we derive a set of coupled evolution equations for the soliton velocity and the curvature. For the case of constant curvature, such as circular geometries, the soliton dynamics is governed solely by the initial velocity and curvature. Remarkably, the soliton travels a nearly constant angular trajectory across two orders of magnitude in curvature, suggesting an emergent conserved quantity, independent of its initial velocity. We extend our analysis to elliptical trajectories with spatially varying curvature and show that soliton dynamics remain determined by the local curvature profile. In these cases, the model of effective constant curvature describes accurately the dynamics given the local curvature has smooth variation. When the soliton crosses regions of rapid curvature variation and/or non-monotonic behavior, the model fails to describe to soliton dynamics, although the overall behavior can still be fully mapped to the curvature profile. Our results provide a quantitative framework for understanding the role of geometry in soliton dynamics and pave the way for future studies of nonlinear excitations in curved quantum systems.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2507.01157

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Solitons are striking manifestations of nonlinearity, encountered in diverse physical systems such as water waves, nonlinear optics, and Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). In BECs, dark solitons emerge as exact stationary solutions of the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. While they can be long-lived in elongated traps, their stability is compromised in higher dimensions due to the snake instability, which leads to the decay of the soliton into vortex structures among other excitations. We investigate the dynamics of a dark soliton in a Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an anisotropic harmonic trap. Using a variational ansatz that incorporates both the transverse bending of the soliton plane and the emergence of vortices along the nodal line, we derive equations of motion governing the soliton's evolution. This approach allows us to identify stable oscillation modes as well as the growth rates of the unstable perturbations. In particular, we determine the critical trap anisotropy required to suppress the snake instability. Our analytical predictions are in good agreement with full numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
Summary form only given. Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of weakly interacting gases allow for the new regime of nonlinear atom optics. Of special interest are macroscopically excited states like dark solitons or vortices. Solitons, as particle like excitations of matter wave fields, provide a link from condensate physics to fluid mechanics, nonlinear optics and fundamental particle physics. Dark solitons in matter waves are characterized by a local density minimum and, a steep phase gradient of the wavefunction at the position of the minimum. We report on experimental and theoretical investigation of dark solitons in BECs of /sup 87/Rb which are produced by the method of phase imprinting. A highly anisotropic confining potential allows us to be close to the (quasi) 1D situation where dark solitons are expected to be dynamically stable. By monitoring the evolution of the density profile we observe the evolution of density minima travelling at a smaller velocity than the speed of sound. By comparison to analytical and numerical solutions of the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation for our experimental conditions we identify these density minima to be moving dark solitons. We have studied in detail the creation and the dynamics of dark solitons as a function of evolution time and imprinted phase.
We develop a systematic analytical approach to consider the dynamics of linear and nonlinear excitations in trapped quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates with repulsive atom-atom interactions. We show that, for a condensate strongly confined in two transverse directions, the ground state of the system involves the high-order eigenmodes of the transverse confining potential in the transverse directions and effective high-order Thomas-Fermi wave functions in the axial direction. The linear excitations of the system have a Bogoliubov-type spectrum with the excitation frequency varying slowly along the axial direction. We find that, in a weak nonlinear approximation, the amplitude of a nonlinear excitation is governed by a variable coefficient Korteweg--de Vries equation with additional terms contributed from the transverse structure and the inhomogeneity in the axial direction of the condensate, which results in varying amplitude, width, and velocity for dark solitons. Because of the inhomogeneity the dark solitons undergo deformation and emit radiations when traveling along the axial direction. We finally demonstrate that a dark soliton will disintegrate into several ones plus a residual wave train when passing over a steplike potential.
We study the dynamics of two gray solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate confined by a toroidal trap with a tight confinement in the radial direction. Gross-Pitaevskii simulations show that solitons can be long-living objects passing through many collisional processes. We have observed quite different behaviors depending on the soliton velocity. Very slow solitons, obtained by perturbing the stationary solitonic profile, move with a constant angular velocity until they collide elastically and move in the opposite direction without showing any sign of lowering their energy. In this case the density notches are always well separated and the fronts are sharp and straight. Faster solitons present vortices around the notches, which play a central role during the collisions. We have found that in these processes the solitons lose energy, as the outgoing velocity turns out to be larger than the incoming one. To study the dynamics, we model the gray soliton state with a free parameter that is related to the soliton velocity. We further analyze the energy, soliton velocity, and turning points in terms of such a free parameter, finding that the main features are in accordance with the infinite one-dimensional system.
Dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates are inherently nonlinear systems and support solitary wave solutions. An important distinction from optical systems is the inhomogeneous background density, which results from the traps used to confine the atoms. As in optical systems, dark solitary waves in three-dimensional geometries are unstable to transverse excitations, which lead to a bending of the dark soliton plane and decay into vortex rings. Highly elon-gated geometries can now be achieved experimentally, in which the condensate dynamics are effectively one-dimensional, and the motion of the dark soliton is governed by the inhomogeneous longitudinal density. We show that a dark soliton is fundamentally unstable to such a changing background density, by means of numerical simulations of the soliton under various potentials (e.g. steps, ramps, harmonic traps, and optical lattices). This leads to the emission of radiation in the form of sound waves. The power emitted is found to be proportional to the square of the soliton acceleration. The latter quantity is shown to be proportional to the deformation of the apparent soliton profile, arising from the sound field in the region of the soliton. We demonstrate that the ensuing interactions between the soliton and sound field, and therefore the dynamics of the soliton, can be controlled experimentally via manipulation of the emitted sound, achieved by modifying the trap geometry. In this manner, it is possible to induce a rapid decay of the soliton, stabilise the soliton, or even pump energy into the soliton by means of parametric driving. 1
The Gross-Pitaevskii equation for a Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an elongated cigar-shaped trap is reduced to an effective system of nonlinear equations depending on only one space coordinate along the trap axis. The radial distribution of the condensate density and its radial velocity are approximated by Gaussian functions with real and imaginary exponents, respectively, with parameters depending on the axial coordinate and time. The effective one-dimensional system is applied to a description of the ground state of the condensate, to dark and bright solitons, to the sound and radial compression waves propagating in a dense condensate, and to weakly nonlinear waves in repulsive condensate. In the low-density limit our results reproduce the known formulas. In the high-density case our description of solitons goes beyond the standard approach based on the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. The dispersion relations for the sound and radial compression waves are obtained in a wide region of values of the condensate density. The Korteweg--de Vries equation for weakly nonlinear waves is derived and the existence of bright solitons on a constant background is predicted for a dense enough condensate with a repulsive interaction between the atoms.