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Modern Physics Letters B

Vortices and Solitons in Bose-Condensates

P. D. Drummond

Published Sep 1, 2000• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The new science of nonlinear atom optics and atom lasers is evolving rapidly. There are similarities between many related areas in modern photonic and atom optics, particularly at the mean-field level. In both cases we can often use classical nonlinear wave equations to describe classical solitons, vortices, and other nonlinear structure. Atom-molecular coupling can be used to play the role of second-harmonic generation. This leads to novel types of soliton. In addition, quantum effects at low densities are likely to be readily observable.

DOI
10.1142/s0217984900001555

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The new science of nonlinear atom optics and atom lasers is evolving rapidly. There are similarities between many related areas in modern photonic and atom optics, particularly at the mean-field level. In both cases we can often use classical nonlinear wave equations to describe classical solitons, vortices, and other nonlinear structure. Atom-molecular coupling can be used to play the role of second-harmonic generation. This leads to novel types of soliton. In addition, quantum effects at low densities are likely to be readily observable.
The availability of coherent matter waves from Bose-Einstein condensates had led to the extension of atom optics from the linear to the nonlinear regime, in analogy with the developments in optics following the invention of the laser. We provide a tutorial introduction to this emerging field, emphasizing the role of collisions as a “nonlinear medium” in the focusing and defocusing of matter waves, the launching of atomic solitons, the generation of vortices, and the demonstration of four-wave mixing both among matter waves and between optical and matter waves.
We review recent developments in quantum and classical soliton theory, leading to the possibility of observing both classical and quantum parametric solitons in higher-dimensional environments. In particular, we consider the theory of three bosonic fields interacting via both parametric (cubic) and quartic couplings. In the case of photonic fields in a nonlinear optical medium this corresponds to the process of sum frequency generation (via (2) nonlinearity) modified by the (3) nonlinearity. Potential applications include an ultrafast photonic AND-gate. The simplest quantum solitons or energy eigenstates (bound-state solutions) of the interacting field Hamiltonian are obtained exactly in three space dimensions. They have a point-like structure - even though the corresponding classical theory is nonsingular. We show that the solutions can be regularized with the imposition of a momentum cut-off on the nonlinear couplings. The case of three-dimensional matter-wave solitons in coupled atomic/molecular Bose-Einstein condensates is discussed.
Within the past five years Albert Einstein's concept of a dilute atomic Bose Condensate has been realized in many experimental laboratories. Temperatures in the nano-Kelvin regime have been achieved using magnetic and optical trapping of laser and evaporatively cooled atoms. At such temperatures the relative de Broglie wavelengths of the gaseous trapped atoms can become long compared to their mean spacing, and through a process of bosonic amplification a "quantum phase transition" takes place involving 10 3 to 10 11 atoms, most of which end up in identical single particle quantum states, whose length scales are determined by the external trap. Rb, Na, Li and atomic H have been trapped at variable densities of the order of 10 13 /cm 3 , and in traps of varying geometries. Of these all but Li have an effective repulsive atomic pair interaction, but utilization of molecular Feshbach resonances allows the interactions of other species to be tuned over wide ranges of strengths, including control of the sign of the effective atomic pair interactions. Fully quantum and macroscopic systems at such low densities are a theorist's dream: simple Hartree type mean field theory provides a startlingly accurate description of density profiles, low energy excitation frequencies, and such a description, commonly called the Non-linear Schrödinger Equation (NLSE) or the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) Equation, will be explored here. The NLSE appropriate for attractive atomic interactions is known to lead to chaotically unstable dynamics, and eventual implosion of the condensate should the local number density exceed a critical value. In this work we illustrate this type of chaotic collapse for attractive condensates, and then explore the types of chaotic dynamics of solitons and vortices, which are the signatures of dynamical non-linearity in the repulsive case. Finally the implications of the symmetry-breaking associated with phase rigidity are explored in model simulations of repulsive condensates: condensates with repulsive atomic interactions break into phase domains when subject to weak shocks and, perhaps surprisingly, break into chaotic "laser-speckle" type patterns as the shock level increases. The fully quantum mechanical NLSE thus displays a full range of chaotic types of motion: from particle-like chaotic collisions of solitons and vortices to fully developed time dependent wave chaos.
The advent of the laser as an intense, coherent light source gave birth to nonlinear optics, which now plays an important role in many areas of science and technology. One of the first applications of nonlinear optics was the production of coherent light of a new frequency by multi-wave mixing of several optical fields in a nonlinear medium. Until the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) there had been no intense coherent source of matter-waves analogous to the optical laser. FEC has already been exploited to produce a matter-wave `laser' leading to the threshold of a new field of physics: nonlinear atom optics. Recently the first experiment in nonlinear atom optics was reported: the observation of coherent four wave mixing in which three sodium matter waves mix to produce a fourth. The experiment utilized light pulses to create two high-momentum wavepackets via Bragg diffraction from a stationary Bose- Einstein condensate. The high-momentum components and the remaining zero momentum condensate component interact to form a new momentum component due to the nonlinear self- interaction of the bosonic atoms. We develop a quantum mechanical description, based on the slowly-varying-envelope approximation to the time-dependent nonlinear Schrodinger equation (also called the Gross-Pitaevskii equation), to describe four-wave mixing in Bose-Einstein condensates and apply this description to understand the experimental observations and to make new predictions. We examine the role of phase-modulation, momentum and energy conservation (i.e., phase-matching), and particle number conservation in four-wave mixing of matter waves.
This book offers a detailed introduction to Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and nonlinear quantum systems, tailored for advanced undergraduates and researchers. It bridges foundational concepts with modern developments in quantum condensed matter. Starting with the history and experimental milestones of BECs, it explores theoretical models including mean-field and beyond-mean-field approaches for both scalar and vectorial condensates. Analytical techniques such as inverse scattering and soliton theory are covered alongside numerical methods for solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Applications span optical solitons, quantum vortices, and exciton-polariton physics. Each topic is supported by examples, problem sets, and computational tools, equipping readers with both theoretical insight and practical skills to engage with cutting-edge research areas like quantum turbulence and supersolids. Part of IOP Series in Advances in Optics, Photonics and Optoelectronics. Key features • Introduces the subject at the very basic level. • Includes the analytical and theoretical methods. • Contains numerical methods. • Provides worked examples, end-of-chapter summaries, and homework problems.
The advent of the laser as an intense, coherent light source gave birth to nonlinear optics, which now plays an important role in many areas of science and technology. One of the first applications of nonlinear optics was the production of coherent light of a new frequency by multi-wave mixing of several optical fields in a nonlinear medium. Until the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) there had been no intense coherent source of matter-waves analogous to the optical laser. BEC has already been exploited to produce a matter-wave 'laser' atom optics was reported: the observation of coherent four wave mixing in which three sodium matter waves mix to produce a fourth. The experiment utilized light pulses to create two high-momentum wavepackets via Bragg diffraction from a stationary Bose- Einstein condensate. The high-momentum components and the remaining zero momentum condensate component interact to form a new momentum component due to the nonlinear self- interaction of the bosonic atoms. We develop a quantum mechanical description, based on the slowly-varying-envelope approximation to the time-dependent nonlinear Schroedinger equation, to describe four-wave mixing in Bose-Einstein condensates and apply this description to understand the experimental observations and to make new predictions. We examine the role of phase-modulation, momentum and energy conservation, and particle number conservation in four-wave mixing of matter waves.