1108.4233 (Hui Hu et al.)

Spin-orbit coupled weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates in
harmonic traps    [PDF]

Hui Hu, B. Ramachandhran, Han Pu, Xia-Ji Liu

We investigate theoretically the phase diagram of a spin-orbit coupled Bose
gas in two-dimensional harmonic traps. We show that discrete Landau levels
develop at strong spin-orbit coupling. For a weakly interacting gas, quantum
states with skyrmion lattice patterns emerge spontaneously and preserve either
parity symmetry or combined parity-time-reversal symmetry. These phases can be
readily observed by experimentally engineering spin-orbit coupling and
interatomic interactions for a cloud of $^{87}$Rb atoms in a highly oblate
trap.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4233