We discuss a method to launch gap solitonlike structures in atomic Bose-Ein
stein condensates confined in optical traps. Bright vector solitons consist
ing of a superposition of two hyperfine Zeeman sublevels can be created for
both attractive and repulsive interactions between the atoms. Their format
ion relies on the dynamics of the atomic internal ground states in two far-
off-resonance counterpropagating (sigma(+)-sigma(-))-polarized laser beams
that form the optical trap. Numerical simulations show that these solitons
can be prepared from a one-component state provided with an initial velocit
y. [S1050-2947(99)03001-2].