Dynamics of a BEC bright soliton in an expulsive potential

We theoretically investigate the dynamics of a matter-wave soliton created in a harmonic potential, which is attractive in the transverse direction but expulsive in the longitudinal direction. This Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) bright soliton made of $^7$Li atoms has been observed in a recent experiment (Science {\bf 296}, 1290 (2002)). We show that the non-polynomial Schr\"odinger equation, an effective one-dimensional equation we derived from the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, is able to reproduce the main experimental features of this BEC soliton in an expulsive potential.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (2 of them with colors

The fate of phonons in freely expanding Bose-Einstein condensates

Phonon-like excitations can be imprinted into a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate of cold atoms using light scattering. If the condensate is suddenly let to freely expand, the initial phonons lose their collective character by transferring their energy and momentum to the motion of individual atoms. The basic mechanisms of this evaporation process are investigated by using the Gross-Pitaevskii theory and dynamically rescaled Bogoliubov equations. Different regimes of evaporation are shown to occur depending on the phonon wavelength. Distinctive signatures of the evaporated phonons are visible in the density distribution of the expanded gas, thus providing a new type of spectroscopy of Bogoliubov excitations.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figure

Landau damping of transverse quadrupole oscillations of an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the interaction between low-lying transverse collective oscillations and thermal excitations of an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate by means of perturbation theory. We consider a cylindrically trapped condensate and calculate the transverse elementary excitations at zero temperature by solving the linearized Gross-Pitaevskii equations in two dimensions. We use them to calculate the matrix elements between thermal excited states coupled with the quasi-2D collective modes. The Landau damping of transverse collective modes is investigated as a function of temperature. At low temperatures, the damping rate due to the Landau decay mechanism is in agreement with the experimental data for the decay of the transverse quadrupole mode, but it is too small to explain the slow experimental decay of the transverse breathing mode. The reason for this discrepancy is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, 1 figur

Transition from 3D to 1D in Bose Gases at Zero Temperature

We investigate the effects of dimensional reduction in Bose gases induced by a strong harmonic confinement in the transverse cylindric radial direction. By using a generalized Lieb-Liniger theory, based on a variational treatment of the transverse width of the Bose gas, we analyze the transition from a 3D Bose-Einstein condensate to the 1D Tonks-Girardeau gas. The sound velocity and the frequency of the lowest compressional mode give a clear signature of the regime involved. We study also the case of negative scattering length deriving the phase diagram of the Bose gas (uniform, single soliton, multi soliton and collapsed) in toroidal confinement.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Dynamics of Collapse of a Confined Bose Gas

Rigorous results on the nonlinear dynamics of a dilute Bose gas with a negative scattering length in an harmonic magnetic trap are presented and sufficient conditions for the collapse of the system are formulated. By using the virial theorem for the Gross-Pitaevskii equations in an external field we analyze the temporal evolution of the mean square radius of the gas cloud. In the 2D case the quantity undergoes harmonic oscillation with frequency $2\omega _0$ It implies that for a negative value of energy of the system, the gas cloud will collapse after a finite time interval. For positive energy the cloud collapses if the initial conditions correspond to a large enough amplitude of oscillations. Stable oscillations with a small amplitude are possible. In the 3D case the system also collapsed after a finite time for a state with negative energy. A stringent condition for the collapse is also derived.Comment: 10 pages, REVTEX, 2 figures (available upon request

Temperature-induced resonances and Landau damping of collective modes in Bose-Einstein condensed gases in spherical traps

Interaction between collective monopole oscillations of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate and thermal excitations is investigated by means of perturbation theory. We assume spherical symmetry to calculate the matrix elements by solving the linearized Gross-Pitaevskii equations. We use them to study the resonances of the condensate induced by temperature when an external perturbation of the trapping frequency is applied and to calculate the Landau damping of the oscillations.Comment: revtex, 9 pages, 5 figure

Landau damping in dilute Bose gases

Landau damping in weakly interacting Bose gases is investigated by means of perturbation theory. Our approach points out the crucial role played by Bose-Einstein condensation and yields an explicit expression for the decay rate of elementary excitations in both uniform and non uniform gases. Systematic results are derived for the phonon width in homogeneous gases interacting with repulsive forces. Special attention is given to the low and high temperature regimes.Comment: 11 pages, latex, 1 figure available upon request. The paper accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Self-consistent calculation of the coupling constant in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

A method is proposed for a self-consistent evaluation of the coupling constant in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation without involving a pseudopotential replacement. A renormalization of the coupling constant occurs due to medium effects and the trapping potential, e.g. in quasi-1D or quasi-2D systems. It is shown that a simplified version of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation leads to a variational problem for both the condensate and a two-body wave function describing the behaviour of a pair of bosons in the Bose-Einstein condensate. The resulting coupled equations are free of unphysical divergences. Particular cases of this scheme that admit analytical estimations are considered and compared to the literature. In addition to the well-known cases of low-dimensional trapping, cross-over regimes can be studied. The values of the kinetic, interaction, external, and release energies in low dimensions are also evaluated and contributions due to short-range correlations are found to be substantial.Comment: 15 pages, ReVTEX, no figure

Improved numerical approach for time-independent Gross-Pitaevskii nonlinear Schroedinger equation

In the present work, we improve a numerical method, developed to solve the Gross-Pitaevkii nonlinear Schroedinger equation. A particular scaling is used in the equation, which permits to evaluate the wave-function normalization after the numerical solution. We have a two point boundary value problem, where the second point is taken at infinity. The differential equation is solved using the shooting method and Runge-Kutta integration method, requiring that the asymptotic constants, for the function and its derivative, are equal for large distances. In order to obtain fast convergence, the secant method is used.Comment: 2 figure

Solitary Wave Interactions In Dispersive Equations Using Manton's Approach

We generalize the approach first proposed by Manton [Nuc. Phys. B {\bf 150}, 397 (1979)] to compute solitary wave interactions in translationally invariant, dispersive equations that support such localized solutions. The approach is illustrated using as examples solitons in the Korteweg-de Vries equation, standing waves in the nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation and kinks as well as breathers of the sine-Gordon equation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, slightly modified version to appear in Phys. Rev.