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arXiv:cond-mat/0310042 · Physical Review A

Creation and mobility of discrete solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates

V. Ahufinger, Anna Sanpera, P. Pedri, Luis Santos, Maciej Lewenstein

Published May 6, 2004• 63 citations
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Abstract

We analyze the generation and mobility of discrete solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates confined in an optical lattice under realistic experimental conditions. We discuss first the creation of one-dimensional discrete solitons, for both attractive and repulsive interatomic interactions. We then address the issue of their mobility, focusing our attention on the conditions for the experimental observability of the Peierls-Nabarro barrier. Finally we report on the generation of self-trapped structures in two and three dimensions. Discrete solitons may open alternative routes for the manipulation and transport of Bose-Einstein condensates.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.69.053604

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A model of the Bose-Einstein condensate of dipolar atoms, confined in a combination of a cigar-shaped trap and deep optical lattice acting in the axial direction, is introduced, taking into regard the dipole-dipole (DD) and contact interactions. The model is based on the discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with an additional nonlocal term accounting for the DD interactions. The existence and stability of fundamental unstaggered solitons are studied for attractive and repulsive signs of both the local and nonlocal interactions. The DD forces strongly affect the shape and stability of on-site and intersite discrete solitons. The corresponding existence and stability regions in the parametric space are summarized in the form of diagrams, which feature a multiple stability exchange between the on-site and intersite families; in the limit of the dominating DD attraction, the on-site solitons are stable, while their intersite counterparts are not. We also demonstrate that the DD interactions reduce the Peierls-Nabarro barrier and enhance the mobility of the discrete solitons.
We analyze the nature of self-localization (SL) of Bose-Einstein condensates in one-dimensional optical lattices in the presence of weak local dissipation. SL has recently been observed in several studies based on the discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (DNLS); however, its origin is hitherto an open question. We show that SL is based on a self-trapping crossover in the system. Furthermore, we establish that the origin of the crossover is the Peierls-Nabarro barrier, an energy threshold describing the stability of self-trapped states. Beyond the mean-field description the crossover becomes even sharper, which is also reflected by a sudden change of the coherence of the condensate. While we expect that the crossover can be readily studied in current experiments in deep optical lattices, our results allow for the preparation of robust and long-time coherent quantum states.
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Abstract. We study mobility and interaction of gap solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) confined by an optical lattice potential. Such localized wavepackets can exist only in the gaps of the matter-wave band-gap spectrum and their interaction properties are shown to serve as a measure of discreteness imposed onto a BEC by the lattice potential. We show that inelastic collisions of two weakly localized nearthe-band-edge gap solitons provide simple and effective means for generating strongly localized in-gap solitons through soliton fusion.
We study the mobility and interaction of gap solitons in a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) confined by an optical lattice potential. Such localized wavepackets can exist only in the gaps of the matter-wave band-gap spectrum and their interaction properties are shown to serve as a measure of the discreteness imposed on a BEC by the lattice potential. We show that inelastic collisions of two weakly localized near-band-edge gap solitons provide a simple and effective means for generating strongly localized in-gap solitons through soliton fusion.
Generation, interaction, and detection of dark solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates are studied. In particular, we focus on the dynamics resulting from phase imprinting and density engineering. We show that solitons slow down significantly when the trap is opened and that soliton phase shifts after binary interactions cannot be observed with present experiments. Finally, motivated by the recent experimental results of Cornish et al. [Phys. Rev Lett. 85, 1795 (2000)], we analyze the stability of dark solitons under changes of the scattering length and thereby demonstrate a new way to detect them. Our theoretical and numerical results compare well with the existing experimental ones and provide guidance for future experiments.