Dark-in-bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interactions

Abstract

We demonstrate a possibility to generate localized states in effectively one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates with a negative scattering length in the form of a dark soliton in the presence of an optical lattice (OL) and/or a parabolic magnetic trap. We connect such structures with twisted localized modes (TLMs) that were previously found in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Families of these structures are found as functions of the OL strength, tightness of the magnetic trap and chemical potential, and their stability regions are identified. Stable bound states of two TLMs are also found. In the case when the TLMs are unstable, their evolution is investigated by means of direct simulations, demonstrating that they transform into large-amplitude fundamental solitons. An analytical approach is also developed, showing that two or several fundamental solitons, with the phase shift π between adjacent ones, may form stable bound states, with parameters quite close to those of the TLMs revealed by simulations. TLM structures are also found numerically and explained analytically in the case when the OL is absent, the condensate being confined only by the magnetic trap.