MultidimensionalSolitonsTheory创新.PDFVIP

7 Multidimensional Solitons: Theory L.D. Carr and J. Brand 7.1 Introduction The one-dimensional solitons described in Parts II and III of this book can be extended into two and three dimensions. Such extensions are generally unstable [1]. However, in the tightly confined geometries associated with trapped Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) both bright and dark solitons extended into two and three dimensions can be stabilized for times longer than the lifetime of experiments [2–4]. BECs offer the opportunity to tune a matter-wave gradually from one to two and to three dimensions [5, 6]. In the crossover regimes, new nonlinear objects can appear, such as the svortex, a solitary wave which is a soliton-vortex hybrid [7, 8]. The general question of crossover dimensions is an intriguing one in physics. We will consider both the stable and unstable regimes of higher dimen- sional solitons, treating such objects theoretically but with an eye towards BEC experiments. BECs are typically contained in harmonic traps, and have a profile ranging from Gaussian to inverse parabolic (cf. the Thomas–Fermi limit in Sect. 4.3 of Chap. 1), depending on the interaction strength [5]. They span tens to hundreds of microns. Their lifetime is on the order of one to a hundred seconds. Both thermal and quantum fluctuations can play a signifi- cant role in their dynamics [5]. We must take into account all of these factors when discussing solitons. Moreover, the finite non-uniform nature of trapped BECs leads to significantly different nonlinear dynamics than that found in the GPE for uniform media. To cite a simple example, even in one dimension with periodic boundary conditions the finite domain of the condensate leads to spontaneous symmetry breaking and quantum phase transitions [9, 10]. There are also solitons