2008/04/03 by C. Becker, C. R. Becker, S. Stellmer +13 · 21 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Nonlinear Photonic Systems #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nphys962
9 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2008/04/03 · openalex publication_date 2008/05/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Solitons are among the most distinguishing fundamental excitations in a wide range of non-linear systems such as water in narrow channels, high speed optical communication, molecular biology and astrophysics. Stabilized by a balance between spreading and focusing, solitons are wavepackets, which share some exceptional generic features like form-stability and particle-like properties. Ultra-cold quantum gases represent very pure and well-controlled non-linear systems, therefore offering unique possibilities to study soliton dynamics. Here we report on the first observation of long-lived dark and dark-bright solitons with lifetimes of up to several seconds as well as their dynamics in highly stable optically trapped 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates. In particular, our detailed studies of dark and dark-bright soliton oscillations reveal the particle-like nature of these collective excitations for the first time. In addition, we discuss the collision between these two types of solitary excitations in Bose-Einstein condensates.