Anderson localization of solitons

Abstract

At low temperature, a quasi-one-dimensional ensemble of atoms with attractive interaction forms a bright soliton. When exposed to a weak and smooth external potential, the shape of the soliton is hardly modified, but its center-of-mass motion is affected. We show that in a spatially correlated disordered potential, the quantum motion of a bright soliton displays Anderson localization. The localization length can be much larger than the soliton size and could be observed experimentally.Comment: version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let