Control of Light-Atom Solitons and Atomic Transport by Optical Vortex Beams Propagating through a Bose-Einstein Condensate
Grant W. Henderson, Gordon R. M. Robb, Gian‐Luca Oppo +1 more
We model propagation of far-red-detuned optical vortex beams through a Bose-Einstein condensate using nonlinear Schrödinger and Gross-Pitaevskii equations. We show the formation of coupled light-atomic solitons that rotate azimuthally before moving off tangentially, carrying angular momentum. The number, and velocity, of solitons, depends on the orbital angular momentum of the optical field. Using a Bessel-Gauss beam increases radial confinement so that solitons can rotate with fixed azimuthal velocity. Our model provides a highly controllable method of channeling a BEC and atomic transport.
arXiv:2203.11640•Physical Review Letters•Aug 12, 2022•24 citations