Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate in a tilted optical lattice

• Bloch oscillations appear for a particle in a weakly tilted periodic potential. The intrinsic spin Hall effect is an outcome of a spin-orbit coupling. We demonstrate that both of these phenomena can be realized simultaneously in a gas of weakly interacting ultracold atoms exposed to a tilted optical lattice and to a set of spatially dependent light fields inducing an effective spin-orbit coupling. It is found that both the spin Hall and the Bloch oscillation effects may coexist, showing, however, a strong correlation between the two. These correlations are manifested as a transverse spin current oscillating in-phase with the Bloch oscillations. On top of the oscillations originating from the periodicity of the model, a trembling motion is found which is believed to be atomic Zitterbewegung. It is argued that the damping of these Zitterbewegung oscillations may to a large extent be prevented in the present setup considering a periodic optical lattice potential.    

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

optical lattice

Bose-Einstein condensate

spin-Hall effect

Bloch oscillations

Atomic physics

Atomfysik

Condensed matter physics

Kondenserade materiens fysik

Fysik

Physics

Fysik med inriktning mot atom- molekyl- och kondenserande materiens fysik

Physics with spec. in Atomic, Molecular and Condensed Matter Physics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)