We study binary mixtures of Bose–Einstein condensates confined in a two-well potential within the framework of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. We re-examine both the single component and the binary mixture cases for such a potential. We investigate the most usual dimensional reductions used to solve the Gross–Pitaevskii equations, including the one proposed by Reatto and collaborators. To this end, we compare numerical simulations of the 1D reductions with the full 3D numerical solutions of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. Our analysis considers an experimentally feasible binary mixture of an F = 1 spinor condensate where two of its Zeeman manifolds are populated.
We present effective reduced equations for the study of a binary Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), where the confining potentials of the two BEC components have distinct asymmetry so that the components belong to different space dimensions as in a recent experiment [G. Lamporesi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 153202 (2010).]. Starting from a binary three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and using a Lagrangian variational approach we derive a binary effective nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with components in different reduced dimensions, for example, the first component in one dimension and the second in two dimensions as appropriate to represent a cigar-shaped BEC coupled to a disk-shaped BEC. We demonstrate that the effective reduced binary equation, which depends on the geometry of the system, is quite reliable when compared with the binary 3D GPE and can be efficiently used to perform numerical simulation and analytical calculation for the investigation of static and dynamic properties of a binary BEC in mixed dimensions.
We present effective reduced equations for the study of a binary Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), where the confining potentials of the two BEC components have distinct asymmetry so that the components belong to different space dimensions as in a recent experiment [G. Lamporesi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 153202 (2010)]. Starting from a binary three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and using a Lagrangian variational approach we derive a binary effective nonlinear Schroedinger equation with components in different reduced dimensions, e. g., the first component in one dimension and the second in two dimensions as appropriate to represent a cigar-shaped BEC coupled to a disk-shaped BEC. We demonstrate that the effective reduced binary equation, which depend on the geometry of the system, is quite reliable when compared with the binary 3D GPE and can be efficiently used to perform numerical simulation and analytical calculation for the investigation of static and dynamic properties of a binary BEC in mixed dimensions.
This dissertation concentrates on the existence, stability and dynamical properties of nonlinear waves in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in doublewell potentials (DWPs). The fundamental model of interest will be the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the so-called Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation, contributed to the well-established mean-field description of BECs. In this context of the GP equation with DWP, a Galerkin-type few-mode approach provides us a powerful handle towards studying the stationary states and predicting the bifurcation diagram including the occurrence of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB). Such method and the corresponding phenomena are discussed based on a prototypical quasi-1D model in Chapter 2. The systematic analysis progresses by considering various modified models, starting with the ones involving different interatomic interactions, e.g., collisionally inhomogeneous interactions, long-range interactions, and competing of short- and long-range interactions. We observe how the basic SSB bifurcation structure persists or is appropriately modified in the presence of these interactions in Chapter 3. We also extend the study to multi-component systems, including nonlinearly coupled two-component settings and F = 1 spinor BECs (genuinely three-component settings) confined in DWPs, where besides the one-component stationary states, combined states involving two or three components appear as well, and novel SSB phenomena emerge within them. Finally the trapped stationary modes of a twodimensional (2D) GP equation with a symmetric four-well potential are explored, providing the picture of SSB in the fundamental 2D setting. These various systems are studied in Chapter 4 - 6. In all models, our analytical predictions based on the few-mode approximation are in excellent agreement with the numerical results of the full GP equations.
We discuss the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential subject to decoherence (or particle loss). Starting from the full many-body dynamics described by the master equation, an effective Gross-Pitaevskii-like equation is derived in the mean-field approximation. By numerically solving the GP equation, we find that macroscopic quantum self-trapping disappears for strong decoherence, while generalized self-trapping occurs under weak decoherence. The fixed points have been calculated, and we find that an abrupt change from elliptic to an attractor and a repeller occurs, reflecting the metastable behavior of the system around these points.
In this thesis we study and characterize the behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in a BJJ, using two different theoretical formalisms: the mean-field approximation (with the Gross-Pitaevskii equation) and many-body calculations (based on Bose-Hubbard models). \n\t\t\t\t With single-component Bose-Einstein condensates, we have focused on the study of the structure of the ground state as a function of the system parameters. We have looked for strongly correlated states, that cannot be described with mean-field theories, and we have proposed a variational wave function that captures the structure of the ground state for a broad interval of the system parameters. We have also studied the nonlinear effects of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, visible when atom-atom interactions are strong. \n\t\t\t\t In the case of binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates we have performed an intensive study of the different regimes that can arise and in which conditions. The standard two-mode approximation is one of the most used in the study of the Josephson effect, as it gives simple analytic equations that capture, to a great extend, the behavior of the system. When the link between condensates is not weak enough, one has to consider a correction to this approximation, namely, the improved two-mode approximation. In this thesis, we have derived this last approximation for the binary mixture and we have checked its validity comparing it with numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Moreover, as the Josephson dynamics is almost one-dimensional, we have considered the two most common reductions of the dimensionality of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In this case, we have also compared, using simulations, these one-dimensional reductions with the three-dimensional equation. \n\t\t\t\t We have also studied spinor condensates in an external BJJ. We have focused on condensates formed by atoms with spin
F=1, which can be in any of the three internal states
mF=0,pm1. Furthermore, in contrast to the binary mixture, spin interchange is allowed, so that the number of particles of each component becomes a dynamic variable. First, we have studied this system within the mean-field framework, using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We have derived the two-mode approximation equations and we have focused in studying the decoupling of the Josephson effect and the population transfer dynamics. In this case, we also compare the results with numerical simulations of the three dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Second, we have studied the spinor BJJ using the Bose-Hubbard formalism, because some features of quantum fluctuations are better captured than with the mean-field. We have characterized the ground state, paying special attention to the regions where it is strongly correlated. We have seen how the spin singlet formation (strongly correlated state between two particles) affects the structure of the ground state. \n\n\t\t\t\t Finally, we have studied finite temperature effects on spinor Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of a magnetic field, for two different cases. First, we have analyzed a condensate formed by
F=1 atoms with contact interactions. We have considered that the condensate was formed by atoms in the internal state
mF=0 and we have studied the dependence of the fluctuations of the other two components
mF=pm1 as a function of temperature. We have used the Bogoliubov formalism applied to an homogeneous system, and then, we have generalized the result to an harmonic trap by using the local density approximation. Second, we have studied a condensate formed by particles with
F=3 with contact interactions and moreover, dipolar interactions. In a similar way as the previous case, we consider that the condensate is formed by particles with
mF=−3 and we study the fluctuations in
mF=−2 and
mF=−3.