Magnetically generated spin-orbit coupling for ultracold atoms

We present a new technique for producing two and three dimensional Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling for ultra cold atoms without involving light. The method relies on a sequence of pulsed inhomogeneous magnetic fields imprinting suitable phase gradients on the atoms. For sufficiently short pulse durations, the time-averaged Hamiltonian well approximates the Rashba Hamiltonian. Higher order corrections to the energy spectrum are calculated exactly for spin-1/2 and perturbatively for higher spins. The pulse sequence does not modify the form of rotationally symmetric atom atom interactions. Finally, we present a straightforward implementation of this pulse sequence on an atom-chip.