The dynamics of an $F=1$ spinor condensate in a two-well potential is studied within the framework of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We derive two-mode equations relating the population imbalances, the phase differences among the condensates at each side of the barrier and the time evolution of the different Zeeman populations for the case of small population imbalances. The case of zero total magnetization is scrutinized in this limit demonstrating the ability of a two-mode analysis to describe to a large extent the dynamics observed in the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. It is also demonstrated that the time evolution of the different total populations fully decouples from the Josephson tunneling phenomena. All the relevant time scales are clearly identified with microscopic properties of the atom-atom interactions.
The dynamics of an F=1 spinor condensate in a two-well potential is studied within the framework of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We derive two-mode equations relating the population imbalances, the phase differences among the condensates at each side of the barrier and the time evolution of the different Zeeman populations for the case of small population imbalances. The case of zero total magnetization is scrutinized in this limit demonstrating the ability of a two-mode analysis to describe to a large extent the dynamics observed in the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. It is also demonstrated that the time evolution of the different total populations fully decouples from the Josephson tunneling phenomena. All the relevant time scales are clearly identified with microscopic properties of the atom-atom interactions.
Dynamics of the repulsive Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in a double-well trap is explored within the 3D time-dependent Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The model avoids numerous common approximations (two-mode treatment, time-space factorization, fixed values of the chemical potential and barrier penetrability, etc) and thus may provide a realistic description of BEC dynamics, including both weak-coupling (sub-barrier) and strong-coupling (above-barrier) regimes and their crossover. The strong coupling regime is achieved by increasing the number N of BEC atoms and thus the chemical potential. The evolution with N of Josephson oscillations (JO) and macroscopic quantum self-trapping (MQST) is examined and the crucial impact of the BEC interaction is demonstrated. At weak coupling, the calculations well reproduce the JO/MQST experimental data. At strong coupling with a significant overlap of the left and right BECs, we observe a remarkable persistence of the Josephson-like dynamics: the JO and MQST converge to a high-frequency JO-like mode where both population imbalance and phase difference oscillate around the zero averages.
We study the dynamics of Josephson oscillations in a mixture of two Zeeman states of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in a double well potential. Two interesting mixture genuine effects are identified. First, we find that in the strongly polarized case, the less populated component exhibits a complex dynamics with an anti-Josephson behavior, i.e., oscillates in phase with the more populated one. Secondly, in the balanced population case, the Josephson oscillations behave as if the interatomic interactions have been partially cancelled. This effect could be used as a new procedure to measure the distinct scattering lengths entering in the description of a spinor condensate. Our numerical results are physically interpreted in terms of an analytical description of the binary mixture using a two-mode model.
We consider an ultracold bosonic binary mixture confined in a quasi-one-dimensional double-well trap. The two bosonic components are assumed to be two hyperfine internal states of the same atom. We suppose that these two components are spin-orbit coupled to each other. We employ the two-mode approximation starting from two coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations and derive a system of ordinary differential equations governing the temporal evolution of the interwell population imbalance of each component and of the polarization, which is the imbalance of the total populations of the two species. From this set of equations we disentangle the different macroscopic quantum tunneling and self-trapping scenarios occurring for both population imbalances and the polarization in terms of the interplay between the interatomic interactions and the other relevant energies in the problem, like the spin-orbit coupling or the conventional tunneling term. We find a rich dynamics in all three variables and discuss the experimental feasibility of such a system.
Abstract The Josephson oscillation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a double-well potential is typically characterized by the population imbalance between the two wells. Within the two-mode approximation, the dynamics of the center of mass of the condensate is predicted to coincide with that of the population imbalance. However, numerical simulations reveal a discrepancy between the dynamics of the center of mass and that of the population imbalance, indicating that the two-mode model fails to fully capture the dynamics of BEC Josephson oscillations. To address this limitation, a four-mode approximation is employed to describe the dynamics of the system. The four-mode model not only describes the dynamics of the population imbalance but also accounts for the oscillation of the center of mass, thereby explaining the origin of the discrepancy between the two-mode model and the simulation results. Moreover, we find that although higher-order excitation modes are always present in Josephson oscillations, the two-mode model can still describe the dynamics of the population imbalance. This phenomenon is explained by the interference of population oscillations between local states. PACS: 03.75.Lm, 03.75.Kk, 67.85.De
We analyze theoretically Josephson oscillations in a mixture of two Zeeman states of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential. We find that in the strongly polarized case, the less populated component exhibits a complex dynamics with an anti-Josephson behavior, i.e., oscillates in phase with the more populated one. In the balanced population case, the Josephson oscillations unveil a dependence with the different spin collision channels. This effect could be used to experimentally measure the distinct scattering lengths entering in the description of a spinor condensate. Our numerical results are in close agreement with an analytical description of the binary mixture using a two-mode model.
Josephson effect of Bose-Einstein condensate in double-well potential is an obvious manifestation of macroscopic quantum coherence. Most of researches focus on the symmetric double-well potential. In this work, we investigate the dynamic of Bose-Einstein condensates in an asymmetric double-well potential by using two-mode theory and computer simulation. In the absence of the interaction between atoms, the dynamic equation of condensate can be solved analytically. The amplitude as a function of energy difference of two wells is obtained. We can find that the change of energy difference will lead to the different dynamic behaviors of condensate. If the energy difference is relatively large, the condensate will primarily occupy the well that is occupied more than the other well at the beginning time. It is interesting that such a trap phenomenon is not dependent on the position of the high energy potential well nor the position of low energy potential well. If the energy difference becomes small, the tunneling and oscillation of condensate will be enhanced. When the interaction between atoms is present, our numerical calculations show that as the nonlinear interaction increases, the dynamic behavior of condensate exhibits different characteristics, such as trapping in a well, enhancing the tunneling and oscillation between two wells, and enhancing the trapping in a well at large nonlinear interaction, which is similar to the dynamic change caused by the energy difference in the case of ideal condensate. That is to say, on the one hand, the nonlinear interaction can lead to the trap of condensate as well as the dynamic trap to happen in symmetric double-well potential. On the other hand, the nonlinearity can promote the tunneling of condensate, counteracting the effect of the asymmetry of potential. And, this counteracting effect is related to the difference in energy between asymmetric potential wells. To understand the underlying mechanism, the full dynamic behavior of two-mode model is illustrated and the dynamic transition can be seen clearly. Combining the results obtained with and without interaction, regarding nonlinear interaction as effective potential provides a clear way to explain dynamic transition of condensate in an asymmetric double-well potential. In addition, we also perform the numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and the results are consistent with the conclusions obtained by using the two-mode theory.