  We present a new technique for producing two- and three-dimensional
Rashba-type spin-orbit couplings for ultracold 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.
