Semiclassical dynamics of quasi-one-dimensional, attractive Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This paper investigates the semiclassical dynamics of attractive Bose-Einstein condensates in a quasi-one-dimensional trap, revealing phenomena like implosion and explosion events without collapse, based on the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Contribution

It applies recent rigorous semiclassical analysis to predict novel implosion-like and explosion-like events in attractive BECs, expanding understanding of their non-collapsing dynamical regimes.

Findings

Prediction of implosion-like events in BEC dynamics

Identification of explosion-like phenomena post-implosion

Observation of ordered structures after implosion

Abstract

The strongly interacting regime for attractive Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) tightly confined in an extended cylindrical trap is studied. For appropriately prepared, non-collapsing BECs, the ensuing dynamics are found to be governed by the one-dimensional focusing Nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLS) in the semiclassical (small dispersion) regime. In spite of the modulational instability of this regime, some mathematically rigorous results on the strong asymptotics of the semiclassical limiting solutions were obtained recently. Using these results, "implosion-like" and "explosion-like" events are predicted whereby an initial hump focuses into a sharp spike which then expands into rapid oscillations. Seemingly related behavior has been observed in three-dimensional experiments and models, where a BEC with a sufficient number of atoms undergoes collapse. The dynamical regimes studied here, however, are not predicted to undergo collapse. Instead, distinct, ordered structures, appearing after the "implosion", yield interesting new observables that may be experimentally accessible.