Formation of solitonic bound state via light-matter interaction

Exchange of energy by means of light-matter interaction provides a new dimension to various nonlinear dynamical systems. Here, the effects of light-matter interaction are investigated for a situation, where two counter-propagating, orthogonally polarized laser pulses are incident on the atomic condensate. It is observed that a localized laser pulse profile can induce localized modes in Bose-Einstein condensate. A stability analysis performed using Vakhitov-Kolokolov-like criterion has established that these localized modes are stable, when the atom-atom interaction is repulsive. The cooperative effects of light-matter interactions and atom-atom interactions on the Lieb-mode have been studied in the stable region through atomic dispersion, revealing the signature of bound state formation when the optical potential is Pöschl-Teller type. The energy diagram also indicates a continuous transfer of energy from the laser pulses to the atoms as the light-matter interaction changes its sign. Graphical abstract