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arXiv:2108.08711 · International Journal of Modern Physics B

Quantum oscillations between weakly coupled Bose–Einstein condensates: Evolution in a non-degenerate double well

John D. Andersen, S. Raghavan, V. M. Kenkre

Published Dec 9, 2021• 4 citations
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Abstract

In this paper, we discuss coherent atomic oscillations between two weakly coupled Bose–Einstein condensates that are energetically different. The weak link is notionally provided by a laser barrier in a (possibly asymmetric) multi-well trap or by Raman coupling between condensates in different hyperfine levels. The resultant boson Josephson junction dynamics is described by a double-well nonlinear Gross–Pitaevskii equation. On the basis of a new set of Jacobian elliptic function solutions, we describe the period of the oscillations as well as associated quantities and predict novel observable consequences of the interplay of the energy difference and initial phase difference between the two condensate populations.

DOI
10.1142/s0217979222400033

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In this paper, we discuss coherent atomic oscillations between two weakly coupled Bose–Einstein condensates that are energetically different. The weak link is notionally provided by a laser barrier in a (possibly asymmetric) multi-well trap or by Raman coupling between condensates in different hyperfine levels. The resultant boson Josephson junction dynamics is described by a double-well nonlinear Gross–Pitaevskii equation. On the basis of a new set of Jacobian elliptic function solutions, we describe the period of the oscillations as well as associated quantities and predict novel observable consequences of the interplay of the energy difference and initial phase difference between the two condensate populations.
We discuss the coherent atomic oscillations between two weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. The weak link is provided by a laser barrier in a (possibly asymmetric) double-well trap or by Raman coupling between two condensates in different hyperfine levels. The boson Josephson junction (BJJ) dynamics is described by the two-mode nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation that is solved analytically in terms of elliptic functions. The BJJ, being a neutral, isolated system, allows the investigations of dynamical regimes for the phase difference across the junction and for the population imbalance that are not accessible with superconductor Josephson junctions (SJJ's). These include oscillations with either or both of the following properties: (i) the time-averaged value of the phase is equal to $\ensuremath{\pi} (\ensuremath{\pi}$-phase oscillations); (ii) the average population imbalance is nonzero, in states with macroscopic quantum self-trapping. The (nonsinusoidal) generalization of the SJJ ac and plasma oscillations and the Shapiro resonance can also be observed. We predict the collapse of experimental data (corresponding to different trap geometries and the total number of condensate atoms) onto a single universal curve for the inverse period of oscillations. Analogies with Josephson oscillations between two weakly coupled reservoirs of ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}\ensuremath{-}B$ and the internal Josephson effect in ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}\ensuremath{-}A$ are also discussed.
Coherent oscillations between two weakly coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates: Josephson effects, πππ-oscillations, and macroscopic quantum self trapping
We discuss the coherent atomic oscillations between two weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. The weak link is provided by a laser barrier in a (possibly asymmetric) double-well trap or by Raman coupling between two condensates in different hyperfine levels. The Boson Josephson Junction (BJJ) dynamics is described by the two-mode non-linear Gross-Pitaevskii equation, that is solved analytically in terms of elliptic functions. The BJJ, being a neutralneutralneutral, isolated system, allows the investigations of new dynamical regimes for the phase difference across the junction and for the population imbalance, that are not accessible with Superconductor Josephson Junctions (SJJ). These include oscillations with either, or both of the following properties: 1) the time-averaged value of the phase is equal to πππ (π−phaseπ-phaseπ−phase oscillations); 2) the average population imbalance is nonzero, in states with ``macroscopic quantum self-trapping'' (MQST). The (non-sinusoidal) generalization of the SJJ `ac' and `plasma' oscillations and the Shapiro resonance can also be observed. We predict the collapse of experimental data (corresponding to different trap geometries and total number of condensate atoms) onto a single universal curve, for the inverse period of oscillations. Analogies with Josephson oscillations between two weakly coupled reservoirs of 3^33He-B and the internal Josephson effect in 3^33He-A are also discussed.
We consider coherent atomic tunneling between two weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates at T =0 in a double-well trap. The condensate dynamics of the macroscopic amplitudes in the two wells is modeled by two Gross-Pitaevskii equations (GPE) coupled by a tunneling matrix element. Analytic elliptic function solutions are obtained for the time evolution of the inter-well fractional population imbalance z(t) (related to the condensate phase difference) of the Boson Josephson junction (BJJ). Surprisingly, the neutral-atom BJJ shows (non-sinusoidal generalizations of) effects seen in charged-electron superconductor Josephson junctions (SJJ). The BJJ elliptic-function behavior has a singular dependence on a GPE parameter ratio Λ at a critical ratio Λ=Λc, beyond which a novel 'macroscopic quantum self-trapping' effect sets in with a non-zero time-averaged imbalance <z>≠0.
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 coherent atomic tunneling between two zero-temperature Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) confined in a double-well magnetic trap. Two Gross-Pitaevskii equations for the self-interacting BEC amplitudes, coupled by a transfer matrix element, describe the dynamics in terms of the interwell phase difference and population imbalance. In addition to the anharmonic generalization of the familiar ac Josephson effect and plasma oscillations occurring in superconductor junctions, the nonlinear BEC tunneling dynamics sustains a self-maintained population imbalance: a novel ``macroscopic quantum self-trapping'' effect.
We investigate the dynamics of two-component Bose–Einstein condensates, composed of atoms in two distinct hyperfine states, which are linearly coupled by two-photon Raman transitions. The condensate is loaded into a double-well potential. A variety of dynamical behaviour, ranging from regular Josephson oscillations to mixed Rabi–Josephson oscillations and to regimes featuring increasing complexity are described in terms of a reduced Hamiltonian system with four degrees of freedoms, which are the numbers of atoms in each component in the left and right potential wells, whose canonically conjugate variables are phases of the corresponding wavefunctions. Using the system with four degrees of freedom, we study the dynamics of fractional imbalances of the two bosonic components and compare the results to direct simulations of the Gross–Pitaevskii equations describing the bosonic mixture. We perform this analysis when the fractional imbalance oscillates around a zero-time averaged value and in the self-trapping regime as well.