Universal Quench Dynamics and Townes Soliton Formation

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter is adapted from Physical Review Letters Volume 125, Issue 25, Page 250401, published on 15 December 2020. In this chapter, we experimentally study universal nonequilibrium dynamics of two-dimensional atomic Bose gases quenched from repulsive to attractive interactions. We observe the manifestation of modulational instability that, instead of causing collapse, fragments a large two-dimensional superfluid into multiple wave packets universally around a threshold atom number necessary for the formation of Townes solitons. We confirm that the density distributions of quench-induced solitary waves are in excellent agreement with the stationary Townes profiles. Furthermore, our density measurements in space and time domain reveal detailed information about this dynamical process, from the hyperbolic growth of density waves, the formation of solitons, to the subsequent collision and collapse dynamics, demonstrating multiple universal behaviors in an attractive many-body system in association with the formation of a quasi-stationary state.KeywordsMatter waveTownes solitonModulational instabilityTwo dimensionSuperfluidQuench dynamicsAttractive interactionDensity power spectrum