Stability of gap solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

We analyze the dynamical stability of gap solitons formed in a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice. Using two different numerical methods we show that, under realistic assumptions for experimental parameters, a gap soliton is stable only in a truly one-dimensional situation. In two and three dimensions, resonant transverse excitations lead to dynamical instability. The time scale of the decay is numerically calculated and shown to be large compared to the characteristic time scale of solitons for realistic physical parameters.