Work

Generic Transverse Stability of Kink Structures in Atomic and Optical Nonlinear Media with Competing Attractive and Repulsive Interactions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We demonstrate the existence and stability of one-dimensional (1D) topological kink configurations immersed in higher-dimensional bosonic gases and nonlinear optical setups. Our analysis pertains, in particular, to the two- and three-dimensional extended Gross-Pitaevskii models with quantum fluctuations describing droplet-bearing environments but also to the two-dimensional cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation containing higher-order corrections to the nonlinear refractive index. Contrary to the generic dark soliton transverse instability, the kink structures are generically robust under the interplay of low-amplitude attractive and high-amplitude repulsive interactions. A quasi-1D effective potential picture dictates the existence of these defects, while their stability is obtained numerically and analytically through linearization analysis and direct dynamics in the presence of external fluctuations showcasing their unprecedented resilience. These "generic" (across different models) findings should be detectable in current cold atom and optics experiments, offering insights toward controlling topological excitations.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.134.123402

Authors: S. I. Mistakidis, G. Bougas, G. C. Katsimiga, P. G. Kevrekidis

Institutions: Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Language: English

Topic: Nonlinear Photonic Systems

Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China

Awards: Collaborative Research: New Directions in Vortex Dynamics: from Theory and Computation to Physical Experiments, Collaborative Research: From Quantum Droplets & Spinor Solitons to Vortex Knots & Topological States: Beyond the Standard Mean-Field in Atomic BECs, Collaborative Research: Collapse, Rogue Waves, and their Applications: From Theory to Computation and Beyond