Experimental observation of single- and multi-site matter-wave solitons in an optical accordion lattice

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Cruickshank, Robbie and Lorenzi, Francesco and La Rooij, Arthur and Kerr, Ethan F. and Hilker, Timon and Kuhr, Stefan and Salasnich, Luca and Haller, Elmar (2025) Experimental observation of single- and multi-site matter-wave solitons in an optical accordion lattice. Physical Review Letters, 135 (26). 263404. ISSN 1079-7114 (https://doi.org/10.1103/sh72-wnmv)

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Abstract

We report the experimental observation of discrete bright matter-wave solitons with attractive interaction in an optical lattice. Using an accordion lattice with adjustable spacing, we prepare a Bose-Einstein condensate of cesium atoms across a defined number of lattice sites. By quenching the interaction strength and the trapping potential, we generate both single-site and multisite solitons. Our results reveal the existence and characteristics of these solitons across a range of lattice depths and spacings. We identify stable regions of the solitons based on interaction strength and lattice properties, and compare these findings with theoretical predictions. The experimental results qualitatively agree with a Gaussian variational model and match quantitatively with numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation extended with a quintic term to account for the loss of atoms. Our results provide insights into the quench dynamics and collapse mechanisms, paving the way for further studies of transport and dynamical properties of matter-wave solitons in lattices.

ORCID iDs

Cruickshank, Robbie ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8662-294X, Lorenzi, Francesco, La Rooij, Arthur ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6166-1326, Kerr, Ethan F. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3600-1258, Hilker, Timon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1012-5750, Kuhr, Stefan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-5357, Salasnich, Luca and Haller, Elmar ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7951-1721;
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