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arXiv:2509.04769 · Physical Review A

Ferrodark soliton collisions: Breather formation, pair reproduction, and spin-mass separation

Yixiu Bai, Jiangnan Biguo, Xiaoquan Yu

Published Jan 12, 2026• 1 citation
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Abstract

We study collisions between a ferrodark soliton (FDS) and an antiFDS ($\mathbb{Z}_2$ kinks in the spin order) in the easy-plane phase of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). For a type-I pair (type-I FDS-antiFDS pair) at low incoming velocities, the pair annihilates followed by the formation of an extremely long-lived dissipative breather on a stable background, a spatially localized wave packet with out-of-phase oscillating magnetization and mass superfluid densities. Periodic emissions of spin and density waves cause breather energy dissipation and we find that the breather energy decays logarithmically in time. When the incoming velocity is larger than a critical velocity at which a stationary FDS-antiFDS pair forms, a pair with finite separating velocity is reproduced. When approaching the critical velocity from below, we find that the lifetime of the stationary type-I pair shows a power-law divergence, resembling a critical behavior. In contrast, a type-II pair (type-II FDS-antiFDS pair) never annihilates and only exhibits reflection. For collisions of a mixed type FDS-antiFDS pair, as $\mathbb{Z}_2$ kinks in the spin order, reflection occurs in the topological structure of the magnetization while the mass superfluid density profiles pass through each other, manifesting spin-mass separation.

DOI
10.1103/vkkd-qy61

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We study collisions between a ferrodark soliton (FDS) and an antiFDS (Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ kinks in the spin order) in the easy-plane phase of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). For a type-I pair (type-I FDS-antiFDS pair) at low incoming velocities, the pair annihilates followed by the formation of an extremely long-lived dissipative breather on a stable background, a spatially localized wave packet with out-of-phase oscillating magnetization and mass superfluid densities. Periodic emissions of spin and density waves cause breather energy dissipation and we find that the breather energy decays logarithmically in time. When the incoming velocity is larger than a critical velocity at which a stationary FDS-antiFDS pair forms, a pair with finite separating velocity is reproduced. When approaching the critical velocity from below, we find that the lifetime of the stationary type-I pair shows a power-law divergence, resembling a critical behavior. In contrast, a type-II pair (type-II FDS-antiFDS pair) never annihilates and only exhibits reflection. For collisions of a mixed type FDS-antiFDS pair, as Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ kinks in the spin order, reflection occurs in the topological structure of the magnetization while the mass superfluid density profiles pass through each other, manifesting spin-mass separation.
Exact propagating topological solitons are found in the easy-plane phase of ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates, manifesting themselves as kinks in the transverse magnetization. Propagation is only possible when the symmetry-breaking longitudinal magnetic field is applied. Such solitons have two types: a low energy branch with positive inertial mass and a higher energy branch with negative inertial mass. Both types become identical at the maximum speed, a new speed bound that is different from speed limits set by the elementary excitations. The physical mass, which accounts for the number density dip, is negative for both types. In a finite one-dimensional system subject to a linear potential, the soliton undergoes oscillations caused by transitions between the two types occurring at the maximum speed.
We propose a framework for topological soliton dynamics in trapped spinor superfluids, decomposing the force acting on the soliton by the surrounding fluid into the buoyancy force and spin corrections arising from the density depletion at soliton core and the coupling between the orbital motion and the spin mixing, respectively. Our formulation applies to large-amplitude soliton motion in general superfluids with spin degrees of freedom under arbitrary external potentials. For ferrodark solitons (FDSs) in spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates, the spin correction could diverge, change the direction of the total force, and enable mapping the FDS motion in a harmonic trap to the atomic-mass particle dynamics in an emergent quartic potential. Initially placing a type-I FDS near the trap center, a single-sided oscillation happens, which maps to the particle moving around a local minimum of the emergent double-well potential. As the initial distance of a type-II FDS from the trap center increases, the motion exhibits three regimes: trap-centered harmonic and anharmonic oscillations followed by single-sided oscillations. Correspondingly the emergent quartic potential undergoes a transition from a single minimum to a double-well shape, where the particle motion shifts from oscillating around the single minimum to crossing between two minima via the local maximum, then the symmetry-breaking motion around one of the two minima. In a hard-wall trap with linear potential, the FDS motion maps to a harmonic oscillator.
We study the dynamics of ring ferrodark solitons (FDSs) in a homogeneous quasi-two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In contrast to the usual expanding dynamics of ring dark solitons in a homogeneous system, the ring FDS radius exhibits self-sustained oscillations accompanied by the nematic tensor breathing at the magnetization-vanishing ring FDS core. When the ring radius greatly exceeds the FDS width, motion is nearly elastic, and we derive the ring-radius equation of motion (EOM) which admits exact solutions. This equation can be recast into a form analogous to the inviscid Rayleigh-Plesset equation governing spherical bubble dynamics in classical fluids, but with anomalous terms. At the ring FDS core, the nematic tensor motion is parameterized by a single parameter that connects the two types of FDSs monotonically. Beyond the hydrodynamics regime, density and spin wave emissions become significant and cause energy loss, shrinking the ring FDS radius oscillation; below a threshold, collapses occur followed by the ring FDS annihilation. In the zero quadratic Zeeman energy limit, the ring radius and eigenvalues of the nematic tensor become stationary, while oscillations of the nematic tensor components, driven by the ring curvature, persist at the core. Excellent agreements are found between analytical predictions and numerical simulations.
We develop an analytical description of static ferrodark solitons, the Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ topological defects in the magnetic order, in the easy-plane phase of ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates. We find that the type-I ferrodark soliton has a single width while the type-II ferrodark soliton exhibits two characteristic length scales. The proposed Ans\"atze show excellent agreement with numerical results. Spin-singlet amplitudes, nematic tensor densities, and nematic currents of ferrodark solitons are also discussed. The Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ topological defects in the mass superfluid order, dark-dark-dark vector solitons, are obtained exactly in the parameter regime where exact ferrodark solitons exist. The dark-dark-dark vector soliton has higher excitation energy than ferrodark solitons.
Solitons are non-dispersive wave packets that balance the wave dispersion with a focusing nonlinearity. They maintain their shape and velocity after collisions with other solitons, owing to the integrability of the underlying nonlinear partial differential equations. They appear in various physical systems, such as water waves, light waves in optical fiber, and matter waves. In our laboratory, we study solitons and their interactions in a Bose-Einstein condensate with an attractive nonlinearity, trapped in a quasi-one-dimensional waveguide. We investigate the collisions of a pair of solitons and explore the relative phase implications on the boundary of integrability. We study soliton train formation with the quench of the nonlinearity strength, and interactions between neighboring solitons in the train. We form a composite soliton, known as a breather, where multiple solitons overlap and the wavefunction ``breathes'' in time. We also explore the response of an elongated condensate to an external modulation of the nonlinearity. These experiments characterize the mean-field descriptions of solitons and Bose-Einstein condensates and explore the boundaries between the mean-field theory and quantum many-body theory.
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.