Spin solitons in spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates

Abstract

Vector solitons in Bose–Einstein condensates are usually investigated analytically with identical intra- and interatomic interactions (for an integrable model). We obtain six families of exact spin soliton solutions for nonintegrable cases, which can be used to describe spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates. The stability analyses and numerical simulations indicate that three families of spin solitons are robust against spin-dependent interactions and white noise. We further investigate the motion of these stable spin solitons driven by external linear potentials. Their moving trajectories demonstrate that the spin solitons admit a negative–positive mass transition. Some splitting and diffusing behaviors can emerge during the motion of a spin soliton that are absent in spin-1/2 systems. The collisions between spin solitons are exhibited with varying relative velocity and phase. The nonintegrable properties of the systems can give rise to weak amplitude and location oscillations after collision. These stable spin soliton excitations can be used to study the negative inertial mass of solitons, the dynamics of soliton-impurity systems, and the spin dynamics in Bose–Einstein condensates.