Flat bands and dynamical localization of spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract: Flat bands and dynamical localization of binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates, with spin-orbit coupling subjected to a deep optical lattice which is shaking in time and to a periodic time modulation of the Zeeman field, are investigated. In contrast with usual dynamical localization in the absence of spin-orbit coupling, we find that to fully suppress the tunneling in the system the optical lattice shaking is not enough, and a proper tuning of the spin-orbit term, achievable via the Zeeman field modulation, is also required. This leads to a sequence of Zeeman parameter values where energy bands become flat, the tunneling in the system is suppressed, and the dynamical localization phenomenon occurs. Exact wave functions at the dynamical localization points show that the binary mixture localizes on a dimer with the two components occupying different sites. This type of localization occurs in exact form also for the ground state of the system at the dynamical localization points in the presence of nonlinearity and remains valid, although in approximate form, for a wide range of the Zeeman parameter around these points. The possibility of observing the above phenomena in real experiments is also briefly discussed.