Bose-Einstein condensate sub-wavelength confinement via superoscillations
Abstract
Optical lattices are essential tools in ultra-cold atomic physics. Here we demonstrate theoretically that sub-wavelength confinement can be achieved in these lattices through superoscillations. This generic wave phenomenon occurs when a local region of the wave oscillates faster than any of the frequencies in its global Fourier decomposition. To illustrate how sub-wavelength confinement can be achieved via superoscillations, we consider a one-dimensional tri-chromatic optical potential confining a spinless Bose-Einstein Condensate of Rb atoms. By numerical optimization of the relative phases and amplitudes of the optical trap's frequency components, it is possible to generate superoscillatory spatial regions. Such regions contain multiple density peaks at sub-wavelength spacing. This work establishes superoscillations as a viable route to sub-wavelength BEC confinement in blue-detuned optical lattices.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2508.09390,
title = {Bose-Einstein condensate sub-wavelength confinement via superoscillations},
author = {Dusty R. Lindberg and Gerard McCaul and Peisong Peng and Lev Kaplan and Diyar Talbayev and Denys I. Bondar},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.09390},
year = {2025}
}