Matter-wave solutions in Bose-Einstein condensates with harmonic and Gaussian potentials

Time-varying Bose–Einstein condensates

Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), a state of matter formed when a low-density gas of bosons is cooled to near absolute zero, continue to motivate novel work in theoretical and experimental physics. Although BECs are most commonly studied in stationary ground states, time-varying BECs arise when some aspect of the physics governing the condensate varies as a function of time. We study the evolution of time-varying BECs under non-autonomous Gross–Pitaevskii equations (GPEs) through a mix of theory and numerical experiments. We separately derive a perturbation theory (in the small-parameter limit) and a variational approximation for non-autonomous GPEs on generic bounded space domains. We then explore various routes to obtain time-varying BECs, starting with the more standard techniques of varying the potential, scattering length, or dispersion, and then moving on to more advanced control mechanisms such as moving the external potential well over time to move or even split the BEC cloud. We also describe how to modify a BEC cloud through evolution of the size or curvature of the space domain. Our results highlight a variety of interesting theoretical routes for studying and controlling time-varying BECs, lending a stronger theoretical formulation for existing experiments and suggesting new directions for future investigation.

Perturbation theory for Bose–Einstein condensates on bounded space domains

Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), first predicted theoretically by Bose and Einstein and finally discovered experimentally in the 1990s, continue to motivate theoretical and experimental physics work. Although experiments on BECs are carried out in bounded space domains, theoretical work in the modelling of BECs often involves solving the Gross–Pitaevskii equation on unbounded domains, as the combination of bounded domains and spatial heterogeneity render most existing analytical approaches ineffective. Motivated by a lack of theory for BECs on bounded domains, we first derive a perturbation theory for both ground and excited stationary states on a given bounded space domain, allowing us to explore the role various forms of the self-interaction, external potential and space domain have on BECs. We are able to show that the shape and curvature of a space domain strongly influence BEC structure, and may be used as control mechanisms in experiments. We next derive a non-autonomous perturbation theory to predict BEC response to temporal changes in an external potential. In certain cases, our approach can be extended to unbounded domains, and we conclude by constructing a perturbation theory for bright solitons within external potentials on unbounded domains.

The nonlinear Schrödinger equation with generalized nonlinearities and PT-symmetric potentials: Stable solitons, interactions, and excitations

We investigate the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation with generalized nonlinearities and complex non-Hermitian potentials and present the novel parity-time-( PT-) symmetric potentials for the NLS equation with power-law nonlinearities supporting some bright solitons. For distinct types of PT-symmetric potentials including Scarf-II, Hermite-Gaussian, and asymptotically periodic potentials, we, respectively, explore the phase transitions for the linear Hamiltonian operators. Moreover, we analytically find stable bright solitons in the generalized NLS equations with several types of PT-symmetric potentials, and their stability is corroborated by the linear stability spectrum and direct wave-propagation simulations. Interactions of two solitons are also explored. More interestingly, we find that the nonlinearity can excite the unstable linear modes (i.e., possessing broken linear PT-symmetric phase) to stable nonlinear modes. The results may excite potential applications in nonlinear optics, Bose-Einstein condensates, and relevant fields.

Solitons and their stability in the nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation with PT-symmetric potentials

We report localized nonlinear modes of the self-focusing and defocusing nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the generalized PT-symmetric Scarf-II, Rosen-Morse, and periodic potentials. Parameter regions are presented for broken and unbroken PT-symmetric phases of linear bounded states and the linear stability of the obtained solitons. Moreover, we numerically explore the dynamical behaviors of solitons and find stable solitons for some given parameters.

Three-component Gross-Pitaevskii equations in the spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate: Spin-rotation symmetry, matter-wave solutions, and dynamics

We report new matter-wave solutions of the one-dimensional spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate system by combining global spin-rotation states and similarity transformation. Dynamical behaviors of non-stationary global spin-rotation states derived from the SU(2) spin-rotation symmetry are discussed, which exhibit temporal periodicity. We derive generalized bright-dark mixed solitons and new rogue wave solutions and reveal the relations between Euler angles in spin-rotation symmetry and parameters in ferromagnetic and polar solitons. In the modulated spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate system, new solutions are derived and graphically illustrated for different types of modulations. Moreover, numerical simulations are performed to investigate the stability of some obtained solutions for chosen parameters.

Stable parity-time-symmetric nonlinear modes and excitations in a derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation

The effect of derivative nonlinearity and parity-time-symmetric (PT-symmetric) potentials on the wave propagation dynamics is explored in the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation, where the physically interesting Scarf-II and harmonic-Hermite-Gaussian potentials are chosen. We study numerically the regions of unbroken and broken linear PT-symmetric phases and find some stable bright solitons of this model in a wide range of potential parameters even though the corresponding linear PT-symmetric phases are broken. The semielastic interactions between particular bright solitons and exotic incident waves are illustrated such that we find that particular nonlinear modes almost keep their shapes after interactions even if the exotic incident waves have evidently been changed. Moreover, we exert the adiabatic switching on PT-symmetric potential parameters such that a stable nonlinear mode with the unbroken linear PT-symmetric phase can be excited to another stable nonlinear mode belonging to the broken linear PT-symmetric phase.

Rogue waves in a two-component Manakov system with variable coefficients and an external potential

We construct rogue waves (RWs) in a coupled two-mode system with the self-focusing nonlinearity of the Manakov type (equal SPM and XPM coefficients), spatially modulated coefficients, and a specially designed external potential. The system may be realized in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensates. By means of a similarity transformation, we establish a connection between solutions of the coupled Manakov system with spatially variable coefficients and the basic Manakov model with constant coefficients. Exact solutions in the form of two-component Peregrine and dromion waves are obtained. The RW dynamics is analyzed for different choices of parameters in the underlying parameter space. Different classes of RW solutions are categorized by means of a naturally introduced control parameter which takes integer values.

Spatial solitons and stability in self-focusing and defocusing Kerr nonlinear media with generalized parity-time-symmetric Scarff-II potentials

We present a unified theoretical study of the bright solitons governed by self-focusing and defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equations with generalized parity-time- (PT) symmetric Scarff-II potentials. Particularly, a PT-symmetric k-wave-number Scarff-II potential and a multiwell Scarff-II potential are considered, respectively. For the k-wave-number Scarff-II potential, the parameter space can be divided into different regions, corresponding to unbroken and broken PT symmetry and the bright solitons for self-focusing and defocusing Kerr nonlinearities. For the multiwell Scarff-II potential the bright solitons can be obtained by using a periodically space-modulated Kerr nonlinearity. The linear stability of bright solitons with PT-symmetric k-wave-number and multiwell Scarff-II potentials is analyzed in detail using numerical simulations. Stable and unstable bright solitons are found in both regions of unbroken and broken PT symmetry due to the existence of the nonlinearity. Furthermore, the bright solitons in three-dimensional self-focusing and defocusing NLS equations with a generalized PT-symmetric Scarff-II potential are explored. This may have potential applications in the field of optical information transmission and processing based on optical solitons in nonlinear dissipative but PT-symmetric systems.

Controlling rogue waves in inhomogeneous Bose-Einstein condensates

We present the exact rogue wave solutions of the quasi-one-dimensional inhomogeneous Gross-Pitaevskii equation by using similarity transformation. Then, by employing the exact analytical solutions we have studied the controllable behavior of rogue waves in the Bose-Einstein condensates context for the experimentally relevant systems. Additionally, we have also investigated the nonlinear tunneling of rogue waves through a conventional hyperbolic barrier and periodic barrier. We have found that, for the conventional nonlinearity barrier case, rogue waves are localized in space and time and get amplified near the barrier, while for the dispersion barrier case rogue waves are localized in space and propagating in time and their amplitude is reduced at the barrier location. In the case of the periodic barrier, the interesting dynamical features of rogue waves are obtained and analyzed analytically.

Complex PT-symmetric nonlinear Schrödinger equation and Burgers equation

The complex -symmetric nonlinear wave models have drawn much attention in recent years since the complex -symmetric extensions of the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation were presented in 2007. In this review, we focus on the study of the complex -symmetric nonlinear Schrödinger equation and Burgers equation. First of all, we briefly introduce the basic property of complex symmetry. We then report on exact solutions of one- and two-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equations (known as the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in Bose-Einstein condensates) with several complex -symmetric potentials. Finally, some complex -symmetric extension principles are used to generate some complex -symmetric nonlinear wave equations starting from both -symmetric (e.g. the KdV equation) and non- -symmetric (e.g. the Burgers equation) nonlinear wave equations. In particular, we discuss exact solutions of some representative ones of the complex -symmetric Burgers equation in detail.