Tunneling-assisted Spin-orbit Coupling in Bilayer Bose-Einstein Condensates

Motivated by a goal of realizing spin-orbit coupling (SOC) beyond one-dimension (1D), we propose and analyze a method to generate an effective 2D SOC in bilayer BECs with laser-assisted inter-layer tunneling. We show that an interplay between the inter-layer tunneling, SOC and intra-layer atomic interaction can give rise to diverse ground state configurations. In particular, the system undergoes a transition to a new type of stripe phase which spontaneously breaks the time-reversal symmetry. Different from the ordinary Rashba-type SOC, a fractionalized skyrmion lattice emerges spontaneously in the bilayer system without external traps. Furthermore, we predict the occurrence of a tetracritical point in the phase diagram of the bilayer BECs, where four different phases merge together. The origin of the emerging different phases is elucidated.

No reviews yet.

No comments yet.