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Optics Express

Nonlinear evolution of the interacting Gaussian-shaped Matter Waves

Jun Chen, Zhang Zhang, Yunxian Liu, Qiang Lin

Published Jul 7, 2008• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The nonlinear evolution of a Gaussian-shaped matter wave with weak interaction among atoms is investigated analytically. An effective complex curvature is introduced to describe the interacting matter wave, and the evolution formula of the effective complex curvature is derived. The conditions under which the analytic formula can be used are presented. As an example, focusing of a coherent matter wave with the repulsive interaction among atoms is calculated and analyzed. The evolution characteristics of the matter wave with and without interactions are compared and discussed.

DOI
10.1364/oe.16.010918

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The nonlinear evolution of a Gaussian-shaped matter wave with weak interaction among atoms is investigated analytically. An effective complex curvature is introduced to describe the interacting matter wave, and the evolution formula of the effective complex curvature is derived. The conditions under which the analytic formula can be used are presented. As an example, focusing of a coherent matter wave with the repulsive interaction among atoms is calculated and analyzed. The evolution characteristics of the matter wave with and without interactions are compared and discussed.
The propagation of an initially Gaussian wave packet of width [Formula: see text] in Gross–Pitaevskii equation is extensively studied both for attractive and repulsive interactions. It is predicted analytically and verified numerically that for a free particle with attractive interaction, the dynamics of the width is governed by an effective potential which is sensitive to initial conditions. If [Formula: see text] is equal to a corresponding critical width [Formula: see text], then the packet will propagate in time with very little change in shape. These are in essence like coherent states. Whereas, if [Formula: see text], depending on the nature of the effective potential for chosen [Formula: see text] and the interaction strength [Formula: see text], the width of the packet in course of time, either oscillates with bounded width or will spread like a free particle. For a simple harmonic oscillator (SHO) also, we find that for [Formula: see text] smaller than a critical value, there always exists a coupling strength for which the packet simply oscillates about the mean position without changing its shape, once again providing a resemblance to a coherent state. We also consider the Morse potential, which interpolates between the free particle and the oscillator. For large attractive interactions, the two limiting dynamics (free and simple harmonic) are indeed observed but in the intermediate form of the potential where the nonlinear terms dominate in the dynamics, an initial Gaussian wave packet does not retain its shape. For repulsive interaction, the Gaussian packet always changes shape no matter what the system parameters are.
We present a model that unifies Gaussian wave-packet evolution with the so-called ``time-dependent Thomas-Fermi approximation'' for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of strongly interacting atoms. The unified simple intuitive formalism describes the stationary or time-dependent properties of single atoms, thermal clouds, or a BEC over a wide range of interaction strengths, including intermediate interaction regimes or scenarios where both interaction regimes coexist. Excellent agreement with precise numerical calculations (Gross-Pitaevskii equations) is obtained. The model is particularly suitable for describing three-dimensional evolution in free space or in time-dependent potentials for trapping, guiding, accelerating, focusing, or splitting matter waves in interferometers. We present a unified theory of spatial coherence in matter-wave interferometers and find good agreement between analytical expressions for the evolution of the coherence length of thermal atoms or a BEC and precise numerical calculations. In addition to the insight provided by the model, it supplies a simple and useful tool for the design and performance analysis of atom interferometers with many operational parameters, where a precise numerical calculation might exhaust unrealistic calculational resources.
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.
We have realized a conical matter wave lens. The repulsive potential of a focused laser beam was used to launch a Bose-Einstein condensate into a radially expanding wavepacket whose perfect ring shape was ensured by energy conservation. In spite of significant interactions between atoms, the spatial and velocity widths of the ring along its radial dimension remained extremely narrow, as also confirmed by numerical simulations. Our results open the possibility for cylindrical atom optics without the perturbing effect of mean-field interactions.
The dynamics of the weak nonlinear matter solitary waves in two-component Bose–Einstein condensates (BEC) with cigar-shaped external potential are investigated analytically by a perturbation method. In the small amplitude limit, the two-components can be decoupled and the dynamics of solitary waves are governed by a variable-coefficient Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation. The reduction to the KdV equation may be useful to understand the dynamics of nonlinear matter waves in two-component BEC. The analytical expressions for the evolution of soliton, emitted radiation profiles and soliton oscillation frequency are also obtained.