We construct a variational wave function for inhomogeneous weakly interacting Bose--Einstein condensates beyond the mean-field approximation by incorporating
3/2-body correlations. From our numerical results calculated for a system trapped by a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the
3/2-body correlations give a contribution comparable to the mean- field energy toward lowering the ground-state energy.
We construct a variational wave function for the ground state of weakly interacting bosons that gives a lower energy than the mean-field Girardeau-Arnowitt (or Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov) theory. This improvement is brought about by incorporating the dynamical 3/2-body processes where one of two colliding non-condensed particles drops into the condensate and vice versa. The processes are also shown to transform the one-particle excitation spectrum into a bubbling mode with a finite lifetime even in the long-wavelength limit. These 3/2-body processes, which give rise to dynamical exchange of particles between the non-condensate reservoir and condensate absent in ideal gases, are identified as a key mechanism for realizing and sustaining macroscopic coherence in Bose-Einstein condensates.
A two-body correlated basis set is used to develop a many-body theory which is valid for any number of bosons in the trap. The formalism incorporates the van der Waals interaction and two-body correlations in an exact way. The theory has successfully been applied to Bose-Einstein condensates---dilute weakly interacting and also dilute but having a large scattering length. Even in the extreme dilute condition, we observe the breakdown of the shape-independent approximation and the interatomic correlation plays an important role in the large particle-number limit. This correlated many-body calculation can handle, within the two-body correlation approximation, the entire range of atom number of experimentally achieved condensates. Next we successfully push the basis function for large scattering lengths where the mean-field results are manifestly bad. The sharp increase in correlation energy clearly shows the beyond-mean-field effect. We also calculate one-particle densities for various scattering lengths and particle numbers. Our many-body calculation exhibits the finite-size effect in the one-body density.
The miscibility of quantum liquids is an interesting topic in many-body physics, which has been intensively investigated in 3He-4He superfluids and the mixtures of ultracold atoms. In the context of dual species Bose-Einstein condensates, the mean-field description has been well established, according to which, the miscibility condition is density independent and determined only by the ratio of inter- and intra-species interaction strength. Recently, Nadion and Petrov proposed that [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 115301 ], in the vicinity of the mixing-demixing threshold, quantum fluctuations play an important role to affect the equilibrium stability, and as a result, the partially miscible state emerges. This new phase of quantum matter opens up new perspectives to explore the beyond mean-field effect in ultracold atomic gases. In this work, according to the equation of state taking the Lee-Huang-Yang correction into consideration, we investigate the ground state phase diagram of repulsive binary Bose mixtures in the interacting regime suffering a weak mean-field instability. Under the thermodynamic balance conditions, the phase boundaries between the immiscible state, partially miscible state and the homogenous state are determined. For the equal-mass case, these phase transitions only take place on condition that intra-species interactions are in an asymmetric form. In terms of interaction parameters, we explicitly derive analytical expressions of the phase boundaries, which are appropriate to describe the transitions in sufficiently dilute atomic gases. At the quantum critical point, where the partially miscible state terminates, the susceptibility tensor of the density response exhibits a divergent behavior. For the unequal-mass case, the beyond-mean-field equation of state cannot be written in a compact form, thus the determination of the phase boundaries is more involved. By expanding the Lee-Huang-Yang energy expression to the terms linear in the concentration of the minority species, we analytically obtain the threshold density for the partially miscible transition. We also propose a discriminant function, from which the configuration of the partially miscible state can be identified for the given mass ratio and interaction strength. Applications of these theoretical results to experimental systems, such as sodium, potassium, and rubidium gases, are presented.
We develop a variational approach at finite temperature that incorporates many-body correlation self-consistently. The grand potential is constructed in terms of Green's function expressed by the variational parameters. We apply this formalism to weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates to incorporate the dynamical 3/2-body processes, which are considered important in the dynamical properties. The processes lower the free energy below the mean-field Hartree--Fock--Bogoliubov's value in the same way as a previous zero-temperature formalism. From our numerical results, the pair creation or annihilation processes neglected in the Popov--Shohno approximation are enhanced, particularly in the long wavelength region, owing to the many-body effects. Because the 3/2-body correlations give a finite contribution to the self-energy of quasiparticles, they may change the microscopic properties qualitatively, even in the weak-coupling region.
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.