Lattice solitons with quadrupolar intersite interactions

Abstract

We study two-dimensional (2D) solitons in the mean-field models of ultracold gases with long-range quadrupole-quadrupole interaction (QQI) between particles. The condensate is loaded into a deep optical-lattice (OL) potential, therefore the model is based on the 2D discrete nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation with contact onsite and long-range intersite interactions, which represent the QQI. The quadrupoles are built as pairs of electric dipoles and anti-dipoles orientated perpendicular to the 2D plane to which the gas is confined. Because the quadrupoles interact with the local gradient of the external field, they are polarized by inhomogeneous dc electric field that may be supplied by a tapered capacitor. Shapes, stability, mobility, and collisions of fundamental discrete solitons are studied by means of systematic simulations. In particular, threshold values of the norm, necessary for the existence of the solitons, are found, and anisotropy of their static and dynamical properties is explored. As concerns the mobility and collisions, it is the first analysis of such properties for discrete solitons on 2D lattices with long-range intersite interactions of any type. Estimates demonstrate that the setting can be realized under experimentally available conditions, predicting solitons built of $\sim$ 10,000 particles.