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arXiv · 1102.2121

Rydberg-induced Solitons: Three-dimensional Self-trapping of Matter Waves

F. Maucher·N. Henkel·M. Saffman·W. Królikowski·S. Skupin·T. Pohl
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Abstract

We propose a scheme for the creation of stable three dimensional bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates, i.e., the matter-wave analog of so-called spatio-temporal "light bullets". Off-resonant dressing to Rydberg $nD$-states is shown to provide nonlocal attractive interactions, leading to self-trapping of mesoscopic atomic clouds by a collective excitation of a Rydberg atom pair. We present detailed potential calculations, and demonstrate the existence of stable solitons under realistic experimental conditions by means of numerical simulations.

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F. Maucher, N. Henkel, M. Saffman, W. Królikowski, S. Skupin, T. Pohl. 2011-04-27. Rydberg-induced Solitons: Three-dimensional Self-trapping of Matter Waves. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.170401

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