Two-component Bose-Einstein Condensates Research Articles

Creating solitons with controllable and near-zero velocity in Bose-Einstein condensates.

Established techniques for deterministically creating dark solitons in repulsively interacting atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) can only access a narrow range of soliton velocities. Because velocity affects the stability of individual solitons and the properties of soliton-soliton interactions, this technical limitation has hindered experimental progress. Here we create dark solitons in highly anisotropic cigar-shaped BECs with arbitrary position and velocity by simultaneously engineering the amplitude and phase of the condensate wave function, improving upon previous techniques which explicitly manipulated only the condensate phase. The single dark soliton solution present in true one-dimensional (1D) systems corresponds to the kink soliton in anisotropic three-dimensional systems and is joined by a host of additional dark solitons, including vortex ring and solitonic vortex solutions. We readily create dark solitons with speeds from zero to half the sound speed. The observed soliton oscillation frequency suggests that we imprinted solitonic vortices, which for our cigar-shaped system are the only stable solitons expected for these velocities. Our numerical simulations of 1D BECs show this technique to be equally effective for creating kink solitons when they are stable. We demonstrate the utility of this technique by deterministically colliding dark solitons with domain walls in two-component spinor BECs.

Controlling quantum coherence of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate via an impurity atom

We propose a scheme to control quantum coherence of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) by a single impurity atom immersed in the BEC. We show that the single impurity atom can act as a single atom valve (SAV) to control quantum coherence of the two-component BEC. It is demonstrated that the SAV can realize the on-demand control over quantum coherence at an arbitrary time. Specially, it is found that the SAV can also control higher-order quantum coherence of two-component BEC. We investigate the long-time evolution of quantum coherence of the two-component BEC. It is indicated that the single impurity atom can induce collapse and revival phenomenon of quantum coherence of the two-component BEC. Collapse-revival configurations of quantum coherence can be manipulated by the initial-state parameters of the impurity atom and the impurity-BEC interaction strengths.

Blow-up profile of 2D focusing mixture Bose gases

We study the collapse of a many-body system which is used to model two-component Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive intra-species interactions and either attractive or repulsive inter-species interactions. Such a system consists a mixture of two different species for $N$ identical bosons in $\mathbb R^2$, interacting with potentials rescaled in the mean-field manner $-N^{2\beta-1}w^{(\sigma)}(N^{\beta}x)$ with $\int_{\mathbb R^{2}}w^{(\sigma)}(x){\rm d}x=1$. Assuming that $0<\beta<1/2$, we first show that the leading order of the quantum energy is captured correctly by the Gross-Pitaevskii energy. Secondly, we investigate the blow-up behavior of the quantum energy as well as the ground states when $N\to\infty$ and either the total interaction strength of intra-species and inter-species or the strengths of intra-species interactions of each component approaches sufficiently slowly a critical value, which is the critical strength for the focusing Gross-Pitaevskii functional. We prove that the many-body ground states fully condensate on the (unique) Gagliardo-Nirenberg solution.

Spin soliton with a negative-positive mass transition

The phenomena of AC oscillation generated by a DC drive, such as the famous Josephson AC effect in superconductors and Bloch oscillation in solid physics, are of great interest in physics. Here we report another example of such counter-intuitive phenomenon that a spin soliton in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate is driven by a constant force: The initially static spin soliton first moves in a direction opposite to the force and then changes direction, showing an extraordinary AC oscillation in a long term. In sharp contrast to the Josephson AC effect and Bloch oscillation, we find that the nonlinear interactions play important roles and the spin soliton can exhibit a periodic transition between negative and positive inertial mass even in the absence of periodic potentials. We then develop an explicit quasiparticle model that can account for this extraordinary oscillation satisfactorily. Important implications and possible applications of our finding are discussed.

Holding and transferring matter-wave solitons against gravity by spin–orbit-coupling tweezers

We consider possibilities to grasp and drag one-dimensional solitons in two-component Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), under the action of gravity, by tweezers induced by spatially confined spin–orbit (SO) coupling applied to the BEC, with the help of focused laser illumination. Solitons of two types are considered, semi-dipoles and mixed modes. We find critical values of the gravity force, up to which the solitons may be held or transferred by the tweezers. The dependence of the critical force on the magnitude and spatial extension of the localized SO interaction, as well as on the soliton’s norm and speed (in the transfer regime), are systematically studied by means of numerical methods, and analytically with the help of a quasi-particle approximation for the soliton. In particular, a noteworthy finding is that the critical gravity force increases with the increase of the transfer speed (i.e., moving solitons are more robust than quiescent ones). Nonstationary regimes are addressed too, by considering abrupt application of gravity to solitons created in the weightless setting. In that case, solitons feature damped shuttle motion, provided that the gravity force does not exceed a dynamical critical value, which is smaller than its static counterpart. The results may help to design gravimeters based on ultracold atoms.

FACt: FORTRAN toolbox for calculating fluctuations in atomic condensates

We develop a FORTRAN code to compute fluctuations in atomic condensates (FACt) by solving the Bogoliubov–de Gennes (BdG) equations for two component Bose–Einstein condensate (TBEC) in quasi-two dimensions. The BdG equations are recast as matrix equations and solved self consistently. The code is suitable for handling quantum fluctuations as well as thermal fluctuations at temperatures below the critical point of Bose–Einstein condensation. The code is versatile, and the ground state density profile and low energy excitation modes obtained from the code can be easily adapted to compute different properties of TBECs — ground state energy, overlap integral, quasi particle amplitudes of BdG spectrum, dispersion relation and structure factor and other related experimental observables. Program summaryProgram Title: FACtProgram Files doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/5h348ndydg.1Licensing provisions: MITProgramming language: FORTRAN 90External routines/libraries: ARPACKNature of problem: Compute the ground state density profile, ground state energy and chemical potential for individual species, evaluate the quasiparticle mode energies and corresponding amplitudes which can capture the transformation of the modes against the change of the parameters (intraspecies interaction, interspecies interaction, anisotropy parameter etc.) using Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov theory with the Popov approximation. Calculate the overlap integral, dispersion relation and structure factor.Solution method: In the first step, the pair of coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations (CGPEs) is solved using split time-step Fourier pseudospectral method to compute the condensate density. To solve the BdG equations, as a basic input the first Nb harmonic oscillator eigenstates are chosen as a basis to generate the BdG 011 matrix with dimension of 4(Nb+1)×4(Nb+1). Since the matrix size rapidly increases with Nb, Arpack routines are used to diagonalize the BdG matrix efficiently. To compute the fluctuation and non-condensate density, a set of the low energy quasiparticle amplitudes above a threshold value of the Bose factor are considered. The equations are then solved iteratively till the condensate, and non-condensate densities converge to predefined accuracies. To accelerate the convergence we use the method of successive under-relaxation (SUR).Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: For a large system size, if the harmonic oscillator basis size is also taken to be large, the dimension of the BdG matrix becomes huge. It may take several days to compute the low energy modes at finite temperature and this package may be computationally expensive.After successful computation of this package, one should obtain the equilibrium density profiles for TBEC, low energy Bogoliubov modes and the corresponding quasiparticle amplitudes. In addition, one can calculate the dispersion relation, structure factor, overlap integral, correlation function, etc. using this package with minimal modifications. In the theory section of the manuscript, we have provided the expressions to compute the above quantities numerically.

Control of anomalous diffusion of a Bose polaron

We study the diffusive behavior of a Bose polaron immersed in a coherently coupled two-component Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). We assume a uniform, one-dimensional BEC. Polaron superdiffuses if it couples in the same manner to both components, i.e. either attractively or repulsively to both of them. This is the same behavior as that of an impurity immersed in a single BEC. Conversely, the polaron exhibits a transient nontrivial subdiffusive behavior if it couples attractively to one of the components and repulsively to the other. The anomalous diffusion exponent and the duration of the subdiffusive interval can be controlled with the Rabi frequency of the coherent coupling between the two components, and with the coupling strength of the impurity to the BEC.

Scale-invariant relaxation dynamics in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates with large particle-number imbalance

We theoretically study the scale-invariant relaxation dynamics in segregating two-component Bose-Einstein condensates with large particle-number imbalance, and uncover that random walk of droplet for the minor component plays a fundamental role in the relaxation process. Our numerical simulations based on the binary Gross-Pitaevskii model reveal the emergence of the dynamical scaling during the relaxation, which is a hallmark of scale-invariant dynamics, in a correlation function for the minor condensate. Tracking exponents characterizing the dynamical scaling in time, we find out a crossover phenomenon that features the change in power exponents of the correlation length. To understand the fundamental mechanism inherent in the scale-invariant relaxation dynamics, we construct a random walk model for droplets. Employing the model, we analytically derive the $1/3$ and $1/2$ power laws and predict the crossover of the scaling. These exponents are in reasonable agreement with the values obtained in the numerical calculations. We also discuss a possible experimental setup for observing the scale-invariant dynamics.

One-dimensional localized modes of spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates with spatially periodic modulated atom-atom interactions: Nonlinear lattices

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) provide a clear and controllable platform to study diverse intriguing emergent nonlinear effects that appear too in other physical settings, such as bright and dark solitons in mean-field theory as well as many-body physics. Various ways have been elaborated to stabilize bright solitons in BECs, three promising schemes among which are: optical lattices formed by counterpropagating laser beams, nonlinear managements mediated by Feshbach resonance, spin-orbit coupling engineered by dressing atomic spin states (hyperfine states of spinor atomic BECs) with laser beams. By combing the latter two schemes, we discover, from theory to calculations, that the two-component BECs with a spin-orbit coupling and cubic atom-atom interactions, whose nonlinear distributions exhibit a well-defined spatially periodic modulation (nonlinear lattice), can support one-dimensional localized modes of two kinds: fundamental solitons (with a single peak), and soliton pairs comprised of dipole solitons (anti-phase) or two-peak solitons (in-phase). The influence of three physical parameters: chemical potential of the system, strengths of both the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and atom-atom interactions, on the existence and stability of the localized modes is investigated based on linear-stability analysis and direct perturbed simulations. In particular, we demonstrate that the localized modes can be stable objects provided always that both the inter- and intraspecies interactions are attractive.

Splitting of coupled bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates under parametric perturbation

We analyze the dynamics of bright-bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) subject to parametric perturbations using the variational approach and direct numerical simulations. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) appropriate to coupled multi-component BECs. A periodic variation of the inter-component coupling coefficient is used to explore nonlinear resonances and splitting of the coupled bright solitons. The analytical predictions are confirmed by direct numerical simulations of the vector NLSE.

The research progress of topological properties in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

Most of the atoms that realize Bose-Einstein condensation have internal spin degree of freedom. In the optical potential trap, the internal spin of the atom is thawed, and the atom can be condensed into each hyperfine quantum state to form the spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. Flexible spin degrees of freedom become dynamic variables related to the system, which can make the system appear novel topological quantum states, such as spin domain wall, vortex, magnetic monopole, skymion, and so on. In this paper, the experimental and theoretical study of spinor Bose-Einstein condensation, the types of topological defects in spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, and the research progress of topological defects in spinor two-component and three-component Bose-Einstein condensate are reviewed.

Interference properties of two-component matter wave solitons

Wave properties of solitons in a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate are investigated in detail. We demonstrate that dark solitons in one of components admit interference and tunneling behavior, in sharp contrast to the scalar dark solitons and vector dark solitons. Analytic analyses of interference properties show that spatial interference patterns are determined by the relative velocity of solitons, while temporal interference patterns depend on the velocities and widths of two solitons, differing from the interference properties of scalar bright solitons. Especially, for an attractive interactions system, we show that interference effects between the two dark solitons can induce some short-time density humps (whose densities are higher than background density). Moreover, the maximum hump value is remarkably sensitive to the variation of the solitons’ parameters. For a repulsive interactions system, the temporal-spatial interference periods of dark–bright solitons have lower limits. Numerical simulation results suggest that interference patterns for the dark–bright solitons are more robust against noises than bright–dark solitons. These explicit interference properties can be used to measure the velocities and widths of solitons. It is expected that these interference behaviors can be observed experimentally and can be used to design matter wave soliton interferometer in vector systems.

Dissipation Induced Nonstationarity in a Quantum Gas.

Nonstationary longtime dynamics was recently observed in a driven two-component Bose-Einstein condensate coupled to an optical cavity [N. Dogra, M. Landini, K. Kroeger, L. Hruby, T. Donner, and T. Esslinger, arXiv:1901.05974] and analyzed in mean-field theory. We solve the underlying model in the thermodynamic limit and show that this system is always dynamically unstable-even when mean-field theory predicts stability. Instabilities always occur in higher-order correlation functions leading to squeezing and entanglement induced by cavity dissipation. The dynamics may be understood as the formation of a dissipative time crystal. We use perturbation theory for finite system sizes to confirm the nonstationary behavior.

Density profile diagrams of harmonically trapped two-component Bose–Einstein condensates

We present an analytical study for density profiles of two-component Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in an isotropic trap within the miscible regime. The analytical equations for the density profiles and the conditions for three different density configurations are presented, which allow us to explore the density profile diagrams of general two-component BECs depending on broad ranges of experimental parameters. Furthermore, we show that the obtained explicit expressions of the density profiles can also be applied to study the collective modes of the two-component BECs, and the frequencies of the two-component BECs clearly characterize the density configurations.

Faraday patterns generated by Rabi oscillation in a binary Bose-Einstein condensate

The interaction between atoms in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is effectively modulated by the Rabi oscillation. This periodic modulation of the effective interaction is shown to generate Faraday patterns through parametric resonance. We show that there are multiple resonances arising from the density and spin waves in a two-component BEC, and investigate the interplay between the Faraday-pattern formation and the phase separation.

Vortex patterns and sheets in segregated two component Bose–Einstein condensates

We study minimizers of a Gross–Pitaevskii energy describing a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate set into rotation. We consider the case of segregation of the components in the Thomas–Fermi regime, where a small parameter $$\varepsilon $$ conveys a singular perturbation. We estimate the energy as a term due to a perimeter minimization and a term due to rotation. In particular, we prove a new estimate concerning the error of a Modica Mortola type energy away from the interface. For large rotations, we show that the interface between the components gets long, which is a first indication towards vortex sheets.

Topological excitations in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates with Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling in a two-dimensional optical lattice

We study the ground-state configurations and spin textures of rotating two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (RD-SOC), which are confined in a two-dimensional (2D) optical lattice plus a 2D harmonic trap. In the absence of rotation, a relatively small isotropic 2D RD-SOC leads to the generation of ghost vortices for initially miscible BECs, while it gives rise to the creation of rectangular vortex-antivortex lattices for initially immiscible BECs. As the strength of the 2D RD-SOC enhances, the visible vortices or the 2D vortex-antivortex chains are created for the former case, whereas the rectangular vortex-antivortex lattices are transformed into vortex-antivortex rings for the later case. For the initially immiscible BECs with fixed 2D RD-SOC strength, the increase of rotation frequency can result in the structural phase transition from square vortex lattice to irregular triangular vortex lattice and the system transition from initial phase separation to phase mixing. In addition, we analyze the combined effects of 1D RD-SOC and rotation on the vortex configurations of the ground states for the case of initial phase separation. The increase of 1D SOC strength, rotation frequency or both of them may result in the formation of vortex chain and phase mixing. Furthermore, the typical spin textures for both the cases of 2D RD-SOC and 1D RD-SOC are discussed. It is shown that the system favors novel spin textures and skyrmion configurations including an exotic skyrmion-half-skyrmion lattice (skyrmion-meron lattice), a complicated meron lattice, a skyrmion chain, and a Bloch domain wall.

Kármán vortex street in a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate

Vortex shedding from a moving obstacle potential in a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate is investigated numerically. For a miscible two-component condensate composed of 23Na and 87Rb atoms, in the wake of obstacle, the Kármán vortex street is discovered in one component, while the Kármán-like vortex street named ‘half-quantum vortex street’ is formed in another component. The other patterns of vortex shedding, such as the vortex dipoles, V-shaped vortex pairs and corresponding ‘half-quantum vortex shedding’, can also be found. The drag force acting on obstacle potential is calculated and discussed. The parameter region for various vortex patterns and critical velocity for vortex emission are presented. In addition, a 85Rb–87Rb mixture is also considered, where the Kármán vortex street and other typical patterns exist in both components. Finally, we provide an experimental protocol for the above realization and observation.

Manipulating transition of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate with a weak δ-shaped laser**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0301504) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61835013 and 11774362).

We theoretically study the transition dynamics of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate driven by a train of weak (δ-shaped laser pulses. We find that the atomic system can experience peculiar resonant transition even under weak optical excitations and derive the resonance condition by the perturbation method. Employing this mechanism, we propose a scheme to obtain an atomic ensemble with desired odd/even atom number and also a scheme to prepare a nonclassical state of the many-body system with fixed atom number.

Splitting of singly and doubly quantized composite vortices in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates

We study numerically the dynamical instabilities and splitting of singly and doubly quantized composite vortices in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates harmonically confined to quasi two dimensions. In this system, the vortices become pointlike composite defects that can be classified in terms of an integer pair $(\kappa_1,\kappa_2)$ of phase winding numbers. Our simulations based on zero-temperature mean-field theory reveal several vortex splitting behaviors that stem from the multicomponent nature of the system and do not have direct counterparts in single-component condensates. By calculating the Bogoliubov excitations of stationary axisymmetric composite vortices, we find nonreal excitation frequencies (dynamical instabilities) for the singly quantized $(1,1)$ and $(1,-1)$ vortices and for all variants of doubly quantized vortices, which we define by the condition $\max_{j=1,2}|\kappa_j|=2$. While the short-time predictions of the linear Bogoliubov analysis are confirmed by direct time integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations of motion, the time integration also reveals intricate long-time decay behavior not captured by the linearized dynamics. First, the $(1,\pm 1)$ vortex is found to be unstable against splitting into a $(1,0)$ vortex and a $(0,\pm 1)$ vortex. Second, the $(2,1)$ vortex exhibits a two-step decay process in which its initial splitting into a $(2,0)$ vortex and a $(0,1)$ vortex is followed by the off-axis splitting of the $(2,0)$ vortex into two $(1,0)$ vortices. Third, the $(2,-2)$ vortex is observed to split into a $(-1,1)$ vortex, three $(1,0)$ vortices, and three $(0,-1)$ vortices. Each of these splitting processes is the dominant decay mechanism of the respective stationary composite vortex for a wide range of intercomponent interaction strengths and relative populations of the two condensate components and should be amenable to experimental detection.