Spatiotemporal pattern formation in parametrically driven two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensates

Abstract We investigate spatiotemporal periodic patterns in harmonically trapped Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) driven by a periodic modulation of the interaction. Resonant with the breathing mode, we show the emergence of a square lattice pattern containing two orthonormal stripes. We study the time evolutions of the lattice patterns for different driving strengths and dissipations. We find that its spatial periodicity and temporal oscillating frequency match the Bogoliubov dispersion, which is the intrinsic property of the system and relevant to the parametric amplification of elementary excitations. In the circumstances of strong driving strength and low dissipation, we further observe the triad interaction and the resulting superlattice state, which are well explained by the nonlinear amplitude equation for superimposed stripes. These results shed light on unexplored nonlinear spatiotemporal dynamics of two-dimensional patterns in harmonically trapped BECs that can pave the way for engineering exotic patterns by state-of-the-art experiments.