Interference of spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

Interference of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, observed in free expansion experiments, is a basic characteristic of their quantum nature. The ability to produce synthetic spin-orbit coupling in Bose-Einstein condensates has recently opened a new research field. Here we theoretically describe interference of two noninteracting spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensates in an external synthetic magnetic field. We demonstrate that the spin-orbit and the Zeeman couplings strongly influence the interference pattern determined by the angle between the spins of the condensates, as can be seen in time-of-flight experiments. We show that a quantum backflow, being a subtle feature of the interference, is, nevertheless, robust against the spin-orbit coupling and applied synthetic magnetic field.