Quantum Tricriticality and Phase Transitions in Spin-Orbit Coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates

We consider a spin-orbit coupled configuration of spin-1/2 interacting bosons with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings. The phase diagram of the system at T = 0 is discussed with special emphasis on the role of the interaction treated in the mean-field approximation. For a critical value of the density and of the Raman coupling we predict the occurrence of a characteristic tricritical point separating the spin mixed, the phase separated, and the zero momentum states of the Bose gas. The corresponding quantum phases are investigated analyzing the momentum distribution, the longitudinal and transverse spin polarization, and the emergence of density fringes. The effect of harmonic trapping as well as the role of the breaking of spin symmetry in the interaction Hamiltonian are also discussed.