Dark solitons generation and their instability dynamics in two dimensional condensates

TL;DR

This paper numerically investigates the formation, dynamics, and decay of two-dimensional dark solitons in a rubidium condensate, exploring their instability mechanisms, vortex interactions, and methods for controlled generation using external potentials and interaction tuning.

Contribution

It introduces new insights into the formation and instability of 2D dark solitons, including vortex dynamics and techniques for their controlled generation in condensates.

Findings

Initial phase gradients determine soliton depth and velocity.

Vortex dipoles exhibit complex annihilation and exchange dynamics.

External potentials and interaction quenches can generate and control soliton properties.

Abstract

We analyze numerically the formation and the subsequent dynamics of two-dimensional matter wave dark solitons in a Thomas-Fermi rubidium condensate using various techniques. An initially imprinted sharp phase gradient leads to the dynamical formation of a stationary soliton as well as very shallow grey solitons, whereas a smooth gradient only creates grey solitons. The depth and hence, the velocity of the soliton is provided by the spatial width of the phase gradient, and it also strongly influences the snake-instability dynamics of the two dimensional solitons. The vortex dipoles stemming from the unstable soliton exhibit rich dynamics. Notably, the annihilation of a vortex dipole via a transient dark lump or a vortexonium state, the exchange of vortices between either a pair of vortex dipoles or a vortex dipole and a single vortex, and so on. For sufficiently large width of the initial phase gradient, the solitons may decay directly into vortexoniums instead of vortex pairs, and also the decay rate is augmented. Later, we discuss alternative techniques to generate dark solitons, which involve a Gaussian potential barrier and time-dependent interactions, both linear and periodic. The properties of the solitons can be controlled by tuning the amplitude or the width of the potential barrier. In the linear case, the number of solitons and their depths are determined by the quench time of the interactions. For the periodic modulation, a transient soliton lattice emerges with its periodicity depending on the modulation frequency, through a wave number selection governed by the local Bogoliubov spectrum. Interestingly, for sufficiently low barrier potential, both Faraday pattern and soliton lattice coexist. The snake instability dynamics of the soliton lattice is characteristically modified if the Faraday pattern is present.