Atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) offer brand new opportunities to revolutionize quantum gases and probe the variation of fundamental constants with unprecedented sensitivity. The recent realization of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in BEC
s provides a new platform for exploring completely new phenomena unrealizable elsewhere. However, there is no study of SOC atomic-molecular BECs so far. Here, we find a novel way of creating a Rashba-Dresselhaus SOC in atomic-molecular BECs by combining the spin dependent photoassociation and Raman coupling, which can control the formation and distribution of a new type of topological excitation -- carbon-dioxide-like Skyrmion. This Skyrmion is formed by two half-Skyrmions of molecular BECs coupling with one Skyrmion of atomic BECs, where the two half-Skyrmions locates at both sides of one Skyrmion, which can be detected by measuring the vortices structures using the time-of-flight absorption imaging technique in real experiments.
Vortex is a topological defect with a quantized winding number of the phase in superfluids and superconductors. Here, we investigate the crystallized (triangular, square, honeycomb) and amorphous vortices in rotating atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein co
ndensates (BECs) by using the damped projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The amorphous vortices are the result of the considerable deviation induced by the interaction of atomic-molecular vortices. By changing the atom-molecule interaction from attractive to repulsive, the configuration of vortices can change from an overlapped atomic-molecular vortices to carbon-dioxide-type ones, then to atomic vortices with interstitial molecular vortices, and finally into independent separated ones. The Raman detuning can tune the ratio of the atomic vortex to the molecular vortex. We provide a phase diagram of vortices in rotating atomic-molecular BECs as a function of Raman detuning and the strength of atom-molecule interaction.
The Zitterbewegung effect in spin-orbit coupled spin-1 cold atoms is investigated in the presence of the Zeeman field and a harmonic trap. It is shown that the Zeeman field and the harmonic trap have significant effect on the Zitterbewegung oscillato
ry behaviors. The external Zeeman field could suppress or enhance the Zitterbewegung amplitude and change the frequencies of oscillation. A much slowly damping Zitterbewegung oscillation can be achieved by adjusting both the linear and quadratic Zeeman field. Multi-frequency Zitterbewegung oscillation can be induced by the applied Zeeman field. In the presence of the harmonic trap, the subpackets corresponding to different eigenenergies would always keep coherent, resulting in the persistent Zitterbewegung oscillations. The Zitterbewegung oscillation would display very complicated and irregular oscillation characteristics due to the coexistence of different frequencies of the Zitterbewegung oscillation. Numerical results show that, the Zitterbewegung effect is robust even in the presence of interaction between atoms.
We investigate the fractionalized Skyrmion excitations induced by spin-orbit coupling in rotating and rapidly quenched spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates. Our results show that the fractionalized Skyrmion excitation depends on the combination of spin-o
rbit coupling and rotation, and it originates from a dipole structure of spin which is always embedded in three vortices constructed by each condensate component respectively. When spin-orbit coupling is larger than a critical value, the fractionalized Skyrmions encircle the center with one or several circles to form a radial lattice, which occurs even in the strong ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic condensates. We can use both the spin-orbit coupling and the rotation to adjust the radial lattice. The realization and the detection of the fractionalized Skyrmions are compatible with current experimental technology.
