Optical tweezers for vortex rings in Bose-Einstein condensates

We study generation and stabilization of vortex rings in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. We suggest an approach for generating vortex rings by optical tweezers-two blue-detuned optical beams forming a toroidal void in a magnetically or optically confined condensate cloud. We demonstrate that matter-wave vortex rings trapped within the void are energetically and dynamically stable. Our theoretical findings suggest a possibility for the generation, stabilization, and nondestructive manipulation of quantized vortex rings in experimentally feasible trapping configurations.