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Formation and propagation of matter-wave soliton trains

Author

Listed:
  • Kevin E. Strecker

    (Rice University)

  • Guthrie B. Partridge

    (Rice University)

  • Andrew G. Truscott

    (Rice University
    Australian National University)

  • Randall G. Hulet

    (Rice University)

Abstract

Attraction between the atoms of a Bose–Einstein condensate renders it unstable to collapse, although a condensate with a limited number of atoms1 can be stabilized2 by confinement in an atom trap. However, beyond this number the condensate collapses3,4,5. Condensates constrained to one-dimensional motion with attractive interactions are predicted to form stable solitons, in which the attractive forces exactly compensate for wave-packet dispersion1. Here we report the formation of bright solitons of 7Li atoms in a quasi-one-dimensional optical trap, by magnetically tuning the interactions in a stable Bose–Einstein condensate from repulsive to attractive. The solitons are set in motion by offsetting the optical potential, and are observed to propagate in the potential for many oscillatory cycles without spreading. We observe a soliton train, containing many solitons; repulsive interactions between neighbouring solitons are inferred from their motion.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin E. Strecker & Guthrie B. Partridge & Andrew G. Truscott & Randall G. Hulet, 2002. "Formation and propagation of matter-wave soliton trains," Nature, Nature, vol. 417(6885), pages 150-153, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:417:y:2002:i:6885:d:10.1038_nature747
    DOI: 10.1038/nature747
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Natanael Karjanto, 2022. "Bright Soliton Solution of the Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation: Fourier Spectrum and Fundamental Characteristics," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(23), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Nader Mostaan & Fabian Grusdt & Nathan Goldman, 2022. "Quantized topological pumping of solitons in nonlinear photonics and ultracold atomic mixtures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Huang, Hao & Wang, Hongcheng & Chen, Manna & Lim, Chin Seong & Wong, Kok-Cheong, 2022. "Binary-vortex quantum droplets," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Shi, Zeyun & Badshah, Fazal & Qin, Lu & Zhou, Yuan & Huang, Haibo & Zhang, Yong-Chang, 2023. "Spatially modulated control of pattern formation in a general nonlocal nonlinear system," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 175(P1).
    5. Malomed, Boris A. & Nascimento, V.A. & Adhikari, Sadhan K., 2009. "Gap solitons in fermion superfluids," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 80(4), pages 648-659.
    6. Chen, Junbo & Zeng, Jianhua, 2021. "Dark matter-wave gap solitons of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in optical lattices with competing cubic-quintic nonlinearities," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Triki, Houria & Choudhuri, Amitava & Zhou, Qin & Biswas, Anjan & Alshomrani, Ali Saleh, 2020. "Nonautonomous matter wave bright solitons in a quasi-1D Bose-Einstein condensate system with contact repulsion and dipole-dipole attraction," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 371(C).
    8. Jung, Pawel S. & Pyrialakos, Georgios G. & Pilka, Jacek & Kwasny, Michal & Laudyn, Ula & Trippenbach, Marek & Christodoulides, Demetrios N. & Krolikowski, Wieslaw, 2023. "Stable fundamental two-dimensional solitons in media with competing nonlocal interactions," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. Ye, Zhi-Jiang & Chen, Yi-Xi & Zheng, Yi-Yin & Chen, Xiong-Wei & Liu, Bin, 2020. "Symmetry breaking of a matter-wave soliton in a double-well potential formed by spatially confined spin-orbit coupling," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Liu, Xiuye & Zeng, Jianhua, 2022. "Overcoming the snaking instability and nucleation of dark solitons in nonlinear Kerr media by spatially inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinearity," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Eric Cereceda-López & Alexander P. Antonov & Artem Ryabov & Philipp Maass & Pietro Tierno, 2023. "Overcrowding induces fast colloidal solitons in a slowly rotating potential landscape," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    12. Ma, Yu-Lan & Li, Bang-Qing, 2022. "Kraenkel-Manna-Merle saturated ferromagnetic system: Darboux transformation and loop-like soliton excitations," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    13. Hossein Taheri & Andrey B. Matsko & Lute Maleki & Krzysztof Sacha, 2022. "All-optical dissipative discrete time crystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.

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