Effects of time-periodic linear coupling on two-component Bose–Einstein condensates in two dimensions

We examine two-component Gross–Pitaevskii equations with nonlinear and linear couplings, assuming self-attraction in one species and selfrepulsion in the other, while the nonlinear inter-species coupling is also repulsive. For initial states with the condensate placed in the self-attractive component, a sufficiently strong linear coupling switches the collapse into decay (in the free space). Setting the linear-coupling coefficient to be time-periodic (alternating between positive and negative values, with zero mean value) can make localized states quasi-stable for the parameter ranges considered herein, but they slowly decay. The 2D states can then be completely stabilized by a weak trapping potential. In the case of the high-frequency modulation of the coupling constant, averaged equations are derived, which demonstrate good agreement with numerical solutions of the full equations. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.