Guangjiong Dong

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in a nonlinear double-well structure

We propose a model of a nonlinear double-well potential (NDWP), alias a double-well pseudopotential, with the objective to study an alternative implementation of the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and optical media, under the action of a potential with two symmetric minima. In the limit case when the NDWP structure is induced by the local nonlinearity coefficient represented by a set of two delta functions, a fully analytical solution is obtained for symmetric, antisymmetric, and asymmetric states. In this solvable model, the SSB bifurcation has a fully subcritical character. Numerical analysis, based on both direct simulations and computation of stability eigenvalues, demonstrates that, while the symmetric states are stable up to the SSB bifurcation point, both symmetric and emerging asymmetric states, as well as all antisymmetric ones, are unstable in the model with the delta functions. In the general model with a finite width of the nonlinear-potential wells, the asymmetric states quickly become stable, simultaneously with the switch of the SSB bifurcation from the subcritical to supercritical type. Antisymmetric solutions may also get stabilized in the NDWP structure of the general type, which gives rise to a bistability between them and asymmetric states. The symmetric states require a finite norm for their existence, an explanation to which is given. A full diagram for the existence and stability of the trapped states in the model is produced. Experimental observation of the predicted effects should be possible in BEC formed by several hundred atoms.

Stable giant vortex annuli in microwave-coupled atomic condensates

Stable self-trapped vortex annuli (VAs) with large values of topological charge S (giant VAs) are not only a subject of fundamental interest, but are also sought for various applications, such as quantum information processing and storage. However, in conventional atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) VAs with S>1 are unstable. Here, we demonstrate that robust self-trapped fundamental solitons (with S=0) and bright VAs (with the stability checked up to S=5), can be created in the free space by means of the local-field effect (the feedback of the BEC on the propagation of electromagnetic waves) in a condensate of two-level atoms coupled by a microwave (MW) field, as well as in a gas of MW-coupled fermions with spin 1/2. The fundamental solitons and VAs remain stable in the presence of an arbitrarily strong repulsive contact interaction (in that case, the solitons are constructed analytically by means of the Thomas-Fermi approximation). Under the action of the moderate attractive contact interaction which, by itself, would lead to collapse, the fundamental solitons and VAs exist and are stable, respectively; it is interesting that higher-order VAs are more robust than their lower-order couterparts, on the contrary to what is known in other systems that may support stable self-trapped vortices. Conditions for the experimental realizations of the VAs are discussed.

Polaritonic solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a soft optical lattice.

We investigate the ground state (GS) of a collisionless Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a soft one-dimensional optical lattice (OL), which is formed by two counterpropagating optical beams perturbed by the BEC density profile through the local-field effect (LFE). We show that LFE gives rise to an envelope-deformation potential, a nonlocal potential resulting from the phase deformation, and an effective self-interaction of the condensate. As a result, stable photon-atomic (polaritonic) lattice solitons, including an optical component, in the form of the deformation of the soft OL, in a combination with a localized matter-wave component, are generated in the blue-detuned setting, without any direct interaction between atoms. These self-trapped modes, which realize the systems GS, are essentially different from the gap solitons supported by the interplay of the OL potential and collisional interactions between atoms. A transition to tightly bound modes from loosely bound ones occurs with the increase of the number of atoms in the BEC.

Phase diagram of Rydberg atoms in a nonequilibrium optical lattice

We study the quantum nonequilibrium dynamics of ultracold three-level atoms trapped in an optical lattice, which are excited to their Rydberg states via a two-photon excitation with non-negligible spontaneous emission. Rich quantum phases, including the uniform phase, the antiferromagnetic phase, and the oscillatory phase are identified. We map out the phase diagram and find these phases can be controlled by adjusting the ratio of intensity of the pump light to the control light and that of two-photon detuning to the Rydberg interaction strength. When the two-photon detuning is blueshifted and the latter ratio is less than 1, bistability exists among the phases. Actually, this ratio controls the Rydberg-blockade and Rydberg-antiblockade effects, thus, the phase transition in this system can be considered as a possible approach to study both effects.

Stability, adiabaticity and transfer efficiency in a nonlinear Λ-system

We investigate the relationship between stability, adiabaticity and transfer efficiency in a Λ-type atom–molecule coupling system via a nonlinear stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. We find that only when the pump and control lasers overlap in time domain, the coherent population trapping (CPT) state could become unstable. If the overlapping time of the two lasers is short so that unstable growth of the deviation from the CPT state is negligible, then good adiabaticity of the CPT state could be maintained even in the unstable region. In this case, a high atom–molecule transfer efficiency could be obtained by chirping applied laser pulses to elegantly compensate the frequency shift induced by intra-atomic collision. Our results could be useful for efficiently photoassociating ground-state molecules from a cold atomic gas with strong atom–atom collisional interaction.

Trapped states and transitions between them in double-well pseudopotentials

We analyze a model of a double-well pseudopotential (DWPP), based in the 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a spatially modulated self-attractive nonlinearity. In the limit case when the DWPP structure reduces to the local nonlinearity coefficient represented by a set of two delta-functions, analytical solutions are obtained for symmetric, antisymmetric and asymmetric states. In this case, the transition from symmetric to asymmetric states, i.e., a spontaneous-symmetry-breaking (SSB) bifurcation, is subcritical. Numerical analysis demonstrates that the symmetric states are stable up to the SSB point, while emerging asymmetric states (together with all antisymmetric solutions) are unstable in the delta-function model. In a general model, which features a finite width of the nonlinear-potential wells, the asymmetric states quickly become stable, simultaneously with the switch of the bifurcation into the supercritical type. Antisymmetric solutions may also enjoy stabilization in the finite-width DWPP structure, demonstrating a bistability involving the asymmetric states. The symmetric states require a finite norm for their existence. A full diagram for the existence and stability of the trapped states is produced for the general model.