Bose beams: coherent propagation through a guide

Abstract

We compute the stationary profiles of a coherent beam of Bose condensed atoms propagating through a guide. Special emphasis is put on the effect of an obstacle present on the trajectory of the beam. The obstacle considered (such as a bend in the guide, or a laser field perpendicular to the beam) results in a repulsive or an attractive potential acting on the condensate. Different behaviors are observed when varying the beam velocity (with respect to the speed of sound), the size of the obstacle (relative to the healing length) and the intensity and sign of the potential. The existence of bound states of the condensate is also considered.