Spin-Orbit Coupled Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

Journal Article · Fri Oct 15 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.105.160403· OSTI ID:21471033

Chunji, Wang; Chao, Gao; Chaoming, Jian; Hui, Zhai ^[1]

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1. Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China)

An effective spin-orbit coupling can be generated in a cold atom system by engineering atom-light interactions. In this Letter we study spin-1/2 and spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and find that the condensate wave function will develop nontrivial structures. From numerical simulation we have identified two different phases. In one phase the ground state is a single plane wave, and often we find the system splits into domains and an array of vortices plays the role of a domain wall. In this phase, time-reversal symmetry is broken. In the other phase the condensate wave function is a standing wave, and it forms a spin stripe. The transition between them is driven by interactions between bosons. We also provide an analytical understanding of these results and determine the transition point between the two phases.

• OSTI ID: 21471033
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 16 Vol. 105; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
ATOMS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
BOSONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COUPLING
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FUNCTIONS
INTERMEDIATE COUPLING
L-S COUPLING
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS
SIMULATION
SPIN
STANDING WAVES
SYMMETRY BREAKING
VISIBLE RADIATION
VORTICES
WAVE FUNCTIONS
WAVE PROPAGATION