Abstract
A spin–orbit-coupled Bose–Einstein-condensed cloud of atoms confined in an annular trapping potential shows a variety of phases that we investigate in the present study. Starting with the non-interacting problem, the homogeneous phase that is present in an untrapped system is replaced by a sinusoidal density variation in the limit of a very narrow annulus. In the case of an untrapped system there is another phase with a striped-like density distribution, and its counterpart is also found in the limit of a very narrow annulus. As the width of the annulus increases, this picture persists qualitatively. Depending on the relative strength between the inter- and the intra-components, interactions either favor the striped phase, or suppress it, in which case either a homogeneous, or a sinusoidal-like phase appears. Interactions also give rise to novel solutions with a nonzero circulation.
Highlights
The effects associated with spin-orbit coupling have long been known and studied in various physical systems, including atoms, solids, quantum dots, etc. [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], and nuclei [8]
Starting with the noninteracting problem, the homogeneous phase that is present in an untrapped system is replaced by a sinusoidal density variation in the limit of a very narrow annulus
In the case of an untrapped system there is another phase with a striped-like density distribution, and its counterpart is found in the limit of a very narrow annulus
Summary
The effects associated with spin-orbit coupling have long been known and studied in various physical systems, including atoms, solids, quantum dots, etc. [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], and nuclei [8]. By means of laser-coupling techniques an analogue to spintronics has become possible with the achievement of artificially-induced spin-orbit coupling in ultracold quantum gases of neutral atoms [20] with the exciting possibility of creating “atom-spintronic” devices that may make use of the superfluid properties of quantum gases. Such systems have been experimentally realized in Bose [21, 22], as well as in Fermi [23] gases. We pay special attention to the interplay between the (single-particle) effect of spin-orbit coupling and the atom-atom interactions; we stress that the parameters that are associated with both of them are realistic and controllable experimentally in atomic systems
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