Collisions of bright solitary matter waves

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex collision dynamics of bright solitary matter waves in Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing how phase, speed, and interaction strength influence outcomes from elastic to destructive collapses.

Contribution

It provides a detailed quantitative analysis of collision behaviors, highlighting the role of collapse time and phase in unstable interactions, and offers interpretations of recent experimental results.

Findings

Collision outcomes vary from elastic to destructive collapse.

Relative phase controls population transfer between waves.

Collapse time is critical in unstable collisions.

Abstract

The collisions of three-dimensional bright solitary matter waves formed from atomic Bose-Einstein condensates are shown to exhibit rich behaviour. Collisions range from being elastic to completely destructive due to the onset of collapse during the interaction. Through a detailed quantitative analysis we map out the role of relative phase, impact speed and interaction strength. In particular, we identify the importance of the collapse time in the onset of unstable collisions and show how the relative phase controls a population transfer between the waves. Our analysis enables us to interpret recent experimental observations of bright solitary matter waves.