Abstract
Vector solitons are a type of solitary or nonspreading wave packet occurring in a nonlinear medium composed of multiple components. As such, a variety of synthetic systems can be constructed to explore their properties, from nonlinear optics to ultracold atoms, and even in metamaterials. Bose–Einstein condensates have a rich panoply of internal hyperfine levels, or spin components, which make them a unique platform for exploring these solitary waves. However, existing experimental work has focused largely on binary systems confined to the Manakov limit of the nonlinear equations governing the soliton behavior, where quantum magnetism plays no role. Here we observe, using a “magnetic shadowing” technique, a new type of soliton in a spinor Bose–Einstein condensate, one that exists only when the underlying interactions are antiferromagnetic and which is deeply embedded within a full spin-1 quantum system. Our approach opens up a vista for future studies of “solitonic matter” whereby multiple solitons interact with one another at deterministic locations.
- Received 2 January 2020
- Accepted 26 May 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.030402
© 2020 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Magnetic Solitons in a Bose-Einstein Condensate
Published 15 July 2020
Two independent experiments generate self-reinforcing magnetic waves in a condensate containing both spin-up and spin-down atoms.
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