title: Generating solitons by phase engineering of a bose-einstein condensate
abstract: Quantum phase engineering is demonstrated with two techniques that allow the spatial phase distribution of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) to be written and read out. A quantum state was designed and produced by optically imprinting a phase pattern onto a BEC of sodium atoms, and matter-wave interferometry with spatially resolved imaging was used to analyze the resultant phase distribution. An appropriate phase imprint created solitons, the first experimental realization of this nonlinear phenomenon in a BEC. The subsequent evolution of these excitations was investigated both experimentally and theoretically.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA. University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. Theoretical Division, Mail Stop B212, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. Ecole Normale Supe.
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Denschlag
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Simsarian
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Feder
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cubizolles
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Hagley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Helmerson
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rolston
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Phillips