Matter-wave solitons in radially periodic potentials

We investigate two-dimensional (2D) states of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) with self-attraction or self-repulsion, trapped in an axially symmetric optical-lattice potential periodic along the radius. Unlike previously studied 2D models with Bessel lattices, no localized states exist in the linear limit of the present model, hence all localized states are truly nonlinear ones. We consider the states trapped in the central potential well, and in remote circular troughs. In both cases, a new species, in the form of \textit{radial gap solitons}, are found in the repulsive model (the gap soliton trapped in a circular trough may additionally support stable dark-soliton pairs). In remote troughs, stable localized states may assume a ring-like shape, or shrink into strongly localized solitons. The existence of stable annular states, both azimuthally uniform and weakly modulated ones, is corroborated by simulations of the corresponding Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Dynamics of strongly localized solitons circulating in the troughs is also studied. While the solitons with sufficiently small velocities are stable, fast solitons gradually decay, due to the leakage of matter into the adjacent trough under the action of the centrifugal force. Collisions between solitons are investigated too. Head-on collisions of in-phase solitons lead to the collapse; $\pi$-out of phase solitons bounce many times, but eventually merge into a single soliton without collapsing. The proposed setting may also be realized in terms of spatial solitons in photonic-crystal fibers with a radial structure.Comment: 16 pages, 23 figure

Dragging two-dimensional discrete solitons by moving linear defects

We study the mobility of small-amplitude solitons attached to moving defects which drag the solitons across a two-dimensional (2D) discrete nonlinear-Schr\"{o}dinger (DNLS) lattice. Findings are compared to the situation when a free small-amplitude 2D discrete soliton is kicked in the uniform lattice. In agreement with previously known results, after a period of transient motion the free soliton transforms into a localized mode pinned by the Peierls-Nabarro potential, irrespective of the initial velocity. However, the soliton attached to the moving defect can be dragged over an indefinitely long distance (including routes with abrupt turns and circular trajectories) virtually without losses, provided that the dragging velocity is smaller than a certain critical value. Collisions between solitons dragged by two defects in opposite directions are studied too. If the velocity is small enough, the collision leads to a spontaneous symmetry breaking, featuring fusion of two solitons into a single one, which remains attached to either of the two defects

Two-component gap solitons with linear interconversion

We consider one-dimensional solitons in a binary Bose-Einstein condensate with linear coupling between the components, trapped in an optical-lattice potential. The inter-species and intra-species interactions may be both repulsive or attractive. Main effects considered here are spontaneous breaking of the symmetry between components in symmetric and antisymmetric solitons, and spatial splitting between the components. These effects are studied by means of a variational approximation and numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 9 figure

The ac-Driven Motion of Dislocations in a Weakly Damped Frenkel-Kontorova Lattice

By means of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that ac field can support stably moving collective nonlinear excitations in the form of dislocations (topological solitons, or kinks) in the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) lattice with weak friction, which was qualitatively predicted by Bonilla and Malomed [Phys. Rev. B{\bf 43}, 11539 (1991)]. Direct generation of the moving dislocations turns out to be virtually impossible; however, they can be generated initially in the lattice subject to an auxiliary spatial modulation of the on-site potential strength. Gradually relaxing the modulation, we are able to get the stable moving dislocations in the uniform FK lattice with the periodic boundary conditions, provided that the driving frequency is close to the gap frequency of the linear excitations in the uniform lattice. The excitations have a large and noninteger index of commensurability with the lattice (suggesting that its actual value is irrational). The simulations reveal two different types of the moving dislocations: broad ones, that extend, roughly, to half the full length of the periodic lattice (in that sense, they cannot be called solitons), and localized soliton-like dislocations, that can be found in an excited state, demonstrating strong persistent internal vibrations. The minimum (threshold) amplitude of the driving force necessary to support the traveling excitation is found as a function of the friction coefficient. Its extrapolation suggests that the threshold does not vanish at the zero friction, which may be explained by radiation losses. The moving dislocation can be observed experimentally in an array of coupled small Josephson junctions in the form of an {\it inverse Josephson effect}, i.e., a dc-voltage response to the uniformly applied ac bias current.Comment: Plain Latex, 13 pages + 9 PostScript figures. to appear on Journal of Physics: condensed matte

Bose-Einstein condensates under a spatially-modulated transverse confinement

We derive an effective nonpolynomial Schrodinger equation (NPSE) for self-repulsive or attractive BEC in the nearly-1D cigar-shaped trap, with the transverse confining frequency periodically modulated along the axial direction. Besides the usual linear cigar-shaped trap, where the periodic modulation emulates the action of an optical lattice (OL), the model may be also relevant to toroidal traps, where an ordinary OL cannot be created. For either sign of the nonlinearity, extended and localized states are found, in the numerical form (using both the effective NPSE and the full 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation) and by means of the variational approximation (VA). The latter is applied to construct ground-state solitons and predict the collapse threshold in the case of self-attraction. It is shown that numerical solutions provided by the one-dimensional NPSE are always very close to full 3D solutions, and the VA yields quite reasonable results too. The transition from delocalized states to gap solitons, in the first finite bandgap of the linear spectrum, is examined in detail, for the repulsive and attractive nonlinearities alike.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Bright solitons from defocusing nonlinearities

We report that defocusing cubic media with spatially inhomogeneous nonlinearity, whose strength increases rapidly enough toward the periphery, can support stable bright localized modes. Such nonlinearity landscapes give rise to a variety of stable solitons in all three dimensions, including 1D fundamental and multihump states, 2D vortex solitons with arbitrarily high topological charges, and fundamental solitons in 3D. Solitons maintain their coherence in the state of motion, oscillating in the nonlinear potential as robust quasi-particles and colliding elastically. In addition to numerically found soliton families, particular solutions are found in an exact analytical form, and accurate approximations are developed for the entire families, including moving solitons.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Multidimensional solitons in periodic potentials

The existence of stable solitons in two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) media governed by the self-focusing cubic nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation with a periodic potential is demonstrated by means of the variational approximation (VA) and in direct simulations. The potential stabilizes the solitons against collapse. Direct physical realizations are a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an optical lattice, and a light beam in a bulk Kerr medium of a photonic-crystal type. In the 2D case, the creation of the soliton in a weak lattice potential is possible if the norm of the field (number of atoms in BEC, or optical power in the Kerr medium) exceeds a threshold value (which is smaller than the critical norm leading to collapse). Both "single-cell" and "multi-cell" solitons are found, which occupy, respectively, one or several cells of the periodic potential, depending on the soliton's norm. Solitons of the former type and their stability are well predicted by VA. Stable 2D vortex solitons are found too.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, Europhys. Lett., in pres

Guiding-center solitons in rotating potentials

We demonstrate that rotating quasi-one-dimensional potentials, periodic or parabolic, support solitons in settings where they are otherwise impossible. Ground-state and vortex solitons are found in defocusing media, if the rotation frequency exceeds a critical value. The revolving periodic potentials exhibit the strongest stabilization capacity at a finite optimum value of their strength, while the rotating parabolic trap features a very sharp transition to stability with the increase of rotation frequency.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates in nonlinear lattices

We consider the three-dimensional (3D) mean-field model for the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), with a 1D nonlinear lattice (NL), which periodically changes the sign of the nonlinearity along the axial direction, and the harmonic-oscillator trapping potential applied in the transverse plane. The lattice can be created as an optical or magnetic one, by means of available experimental techniques. The objective is to identify stable 3D solitons supported by the setting. Two methods are developed for this purpose: The variational approximation, formulated in the framework of the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and the 1D nonpolynomial Schr\"{o}dinger equation (NPSE) in the axial direction, which allows one to predict the collapse in the framework of the 1D description. Results are summarized in the form of a stability region for the solitons in the plane of the NL strength and wavenumber. Both methods produce a similar form of the stability region. Unlike their counterparts supported by the NL in the 1D model with the cubic nonlinearity, kicked solitons of the NPSE cannot be set in motion, but the kick may help to stabilize them against the collapse, by causing the solitons to shed excess norm. A dynamical effect specific to the NL is found in the form of freely propagating small-amplitude wave packets emitted by perturbed solitons.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. To be published in J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phy

Light Bullets in Nonlinear Periodically Curved Waveguide Arrays

We predict that stable mobile spatio-temporal solitons can exist in arrays of periodically curved optical waveguides. We find two-dimensional light bullets in one-dimensional arrays with harmonic waveguide bending and three-dimensional bullets in square lattices with helical waveguide bending using variational formalism. Stability of the light bullet solutions is confirmed by the direct numerical simulations which show that the light bullets can freely move across the curved arrays. This mobility property is a distinguishing characteristic compared to previously considered discrete light bullets which were trapped to a specific lattice site. These results suggest new possibilities for flexible spatio-temporal manipulation of optical pulses in photonic lattices.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure