No Arabic abstract
We discuss the superfluid properties of a Bose-Einstein condensed gas with spin-orbit coupling, recently realized in experiments. We find a finite normal fluid density $rho_n$ at zero temperature which turns out to be a function of the Raman coupling. In particular, the entire fluid becomes normal at the transition point from the zero momentum to the plane wave phase, even though the condensate fraction remains finite. We emphasize the crucial role played by the gapped branch of the elementary excitations and discuss its contributions to various sum rules. Finally, we prove that an independent definition of superfluid density $rho_s$, using the phase twist method, satisfies the equality $rho_n+rho_s=rho$, the total density, despite the breaking of Galilean invariance.
Synthetic spin-orbit (SO) coupling, an important ingredient for quantum simulation of many exotic condensed matter physics, has recently attracted considerable attention. The static and dynamic properties of a SO coupled Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) have been extensively studied in both theory and experiment. Here we numerically investigate the generation and propagation of a textit{dynamical} spin-density wave (SDW) in a SO coupled BEC using a fast moving Gaussian-shaped barrier. We find that the SDW wavelength is sensitive to the barriers velocity while varies slightly with the barriers peak potential or width. We qualitatively explain the generation of SDW by considering a rectangular barrier in a one dimensional system. Our results may motivate future experimental and theoretical investigations of rich dynamics in the SO coupled BEC induced by a moving barrier.
A spin-orbit coupled two-dimensional (2D) Bose gas is shown to simultaneously possess quasi and true long-range order in the total and relative phase sectors, respectively. The total phase undergoes a Berenzinskii- Kosterlitz-Thouless transition to a low temperature phase with quasi long-range order, as expected for a two- dimensional quantum gas. Additionally, the relative phase undergoes an Ising-type transition building up true long-range order, which is induced by the anisotropic spin-orbit coupling. Based on the Bogoliubov approach, expressions for the total- and relative-phase fluctuations are derived analytically for the low temperature regime. Numerical simulations of the stochastic projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation (SPGPE) give a good agreement with the analytical predictions.
We study the spin squeezing in a spin-1/2 Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) with Raman induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Under the condition of two-photon resonance and weak Raman coupling strength, the system possesses two degenerate ground states, using which we construct an effective two-mode model. The Hamiltonian of the two-mode model takes the form of the one-axis-twisting Hamiltonian which is known to generate spin squeezing. More importantly, we show that the SOC provides a convenient control knob to adjust the spin nonlinearity responsible for spin squeezing. Specifically, the spin nonlinearity strength can be tuned to be comparable to the two-body density-density interaction, hence is much larger than the intrinsic spin-dependent interaction strength in conventional two-component BEC systems such as $^{87}$Rb and $^{23}$Na in the absence of the SOC. We confirm the spin squeezing by carrying out a fully beyond-mean-field numerical calculation using the truncated Wigner method. Additionally, the experimental implementation is also discussed.
Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates (SOBECs) exhibit two new phases of matter, now known as the stripe and plane-wave phases. When two interacting spin components of a SOBEC spatially overlap, density modulations with periodicity given by the spin-orbit coupling strength appear. In equilibrium, these components fully overlap in the miscible stripe phase, and overlap only in a domain wall in the immiscible plane-wave phase. Here we probe the density modulation present in any overlapping region with optical Bragg scattering, and observe the sudden drop of Bragg scattering as the overlapping region shrinks. Using an atomic analogue of the Talbot effect, we demonstrate the existence of long-range coherence between the different spin components in the stripe phase and surprisingly even in the phase-separated plane-wave phase.
Phases of matter are conventionally characterized by order parameters describing the type and degree of order in a system. For example, crystals consist of spatially ordered arrays of atoms, an order that is lost as the crystal melts. Like- wise in ferromagnets, the magnetic moments of the constituent particles align only below the Curie temperature, TC. These two examples reflect two classes of phase transitions: the melting of a crystal is a first-order phase transition (the crystalline order vanishes abruptly) and the onset of magnetism is a second- order phase transition (the magnetization increases continuously from zero as the temperature falls below TC). Such magnetism is robust in systems with localized magnetic particles, and yet rare in model itinerant systems where the particles are free to move about. Here for the first time, we explore the itinerant magnetic phases present in a spin-1 spin-orbit coupled atomic Bose gas; in this system, itinerant ferromagnetic order is stabilized by the spin-orbit coupling, vanishing in its absence. We first located a second-order phase transition that continuously stiffens until, at a tricritical point, it transforms into a first- order transition (with observed width as small as h x 4 Hz). We then studied the long-lived metastable states associated with the first-order transition. These measurements are all in agreement with theory.