Observation of soliton fusion in a Josephson array.
The behavior of topological solitons in a parallel array of a Josephson junction is studied experimentally. We observe the fusion of two relativistic solitons of the same polarity into a single soliton. The soliton carries two quanta of magnetic flux and, most strikingly, travels 18% faster than an ordinary soliton under the same driving force. We also find a variety of bunched states composed of solitons of the same polarity, moving with fixed separation.
Physikalisches Institut III, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany.
J
J
Pfeiffer
M
M
Schuster
A A
AA
Abdumalikov
A V
AV
Ustinov