Landau–Zener–Stückelberg–Majorana interference of a spin-orbit-coupled Bose–Einstein condensate

• Published in: The European physical journal. D, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2021-05, Vol.75 (5), Article 150
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xin-Xin, Wang, Wen-Yuan, Dou, Fu-Quan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos Theory; Atomic; Bose-Einstein condensates; Interference; Locking; Mathematical analysis; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Information Technology; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Cold Matter and Quantum Gases; Spectroscopy/Spectrometry; Spintronics; Topical Issue: Atoms and Molecules in a Confined Environment
• ISSN: 1434-6060; 1434-6079
• DOI: 10.1140/epjd/s10053-021-00158-9

The spin-orbit-coupled (SOC) ultracold atomic gases provide unique opportunities for exploring exotic quantum phases and introduce new capabilities into the quantum simulation. In this paper, we study the coherent control of spin states in SOC Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) by exploiting and implementing the general concept of Landau–Zener–Stüeckelberg–Majorana (LZSM) interference. For a SOC BEC, the Landau–Zener (LZ) transition between the dressed eigenlevels occurs as the BEC is accelerated through the SOC-avoided crossing, which corresponds to a breakdown of the spin momentum locking. In our scheme, two LZ pulses are separated by an intermediate holding period of variable duration. The nice LZSM interference patterns can be generated and controlled by controlling several parameters, corresponding to coherent control of the spin state of the SOC BEC. In particular, the destructive and constructive patterns of LZSM interference are observed and well explained through analytical analysis. Our results suggest a potential application of the LZSM interferometry in calibrating the spin states of a SOC BEC. Graphic Abstract