An effective spin-orbit coupling can be generated in a cold atom system by engineering atom-light interactions. In this Letter we study spin-1/2 and spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and find that the condensate wave function will develop nontrivial structures. From numerical simulation we have identified two different phases. In one phase the ground state is a single plane wave, and often we find the system splits into domains and an array of vortices plays the role of a domain wall. In this phase, time-reversal symmetry is broken. In the other phase the condensate wave function is a standing wave, and it forms a spin stripe. The transition between them is driven by interactions between bosons. We also provide an analytical understanding of these results and determine the transition point between the two phases.

The synchronisation of time and frequency between remote locations is crucial for many important applications. Conventional time and frequency dissemination often makes use of satellite links. Recently, the communication fibre network has become an attractive option for long-distance time and frequency dissemination. Here, we demonstrate accurate frequency transfer and time synchronisation via an 80 km fibre link between Tsinghua University (THU) and the National Institute of Metrology of China (NIM). Using a 9.1 GHz microwave modulation and a timing signal carried by two continuous-wave lasers and transferred across the same 80 km urban fibre link, frequency transfer stability at the level of 5×10−19/day was achieved. Time synchronisation at the 50 ps precision level was also demonstrated. The system is reliable and has operated continuously for several months. We further discuss the feasibility of using such frequency and time transfer over 1000 km and its applications to long-baseline radio astronomy.

For two-dimensional (2D) atomic Fermi gases in harmonic traps, the SO(2,1) symmetry is broken by the interatomic interaction explicitly via the contact correlation operator. Consequently the frequency of the breathing mode $\omega_B$ of the 2D Fermi gas can be different from $2\omega_0$, with $\omega_0$ the trapping frequency of harmonic potentials. At zero temperature, we use the sum rules of density correlation functions to yield upper bounds for $\omega_B$. We further calculate $\omega_B$ through the Euler equations in the hydrodynamic regime. The obtained value of $\omega_B$ satisfies the upper bounds and shows deviation from $2\omega_0$ which can be as large as about 8%.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Ultracold gases, trapped gases.Abstract -We consider a mixture of two single-spin-state fermions with an interaction of negligible range and infinite s-wave scattering length. By varying the mass ratio α across αc ≃ 13.6069 one can switch on-and-off the Efimov effect. We determine analytically the third cluster coefficient of the gas. We show that it is a smooth function of α across αc since, unexpectedly, the three-body parameter characterizing the interaction is relevant even on the non-Efimovian side α < αc.

We demonstrate a fiber-based multiple-access ultrastable frequency dissemination scheme over an 83 km fiber link. As a performance test, we reproduce the disseminated 9.1 GHz radio-frequency modulation signal at an arbitrary point in the dissemination channel. Relative frequency stability of 7×10(-14)/s and 5×10(-18)/day is obtained. Highly synchronized frequency signals can be regenerated along the entire fiber pathway and its applications are discussed.