paper

Anisotropic dynamics of a spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensate

arXiv:1207.6804 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.86.063621

Abstract

By calculating the density response function we identify the excitation spectrum of a Bose-Einstein condensate with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling. We find that the velocity of sound along the direction of spin-orbit coupling is deeply quenched and vanishes when one approaches the second-order phase transition between the plane wave and the zero momentum quantum phases. We also point out the emergence of a roton minimum in the excitation spectrum for small values of the Raman coupling, providing the onset of the transition to the stripe phase. Our findings point out the occurrence of a strong anisotropy in the dynamic behavior of the gas. A hydrodynamic description accounting for the collective oscillations in both uniform and harmonically trapped gases is also derived.

9 pages, 5 figures, extended version of the previous publication (v1)

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