We present analytical stationary solutions for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BECs) trapped in a double-well potential. These solutions are compared to those described by [Mahmud et al., Phys. Rev. A 66, 063607 (2002)]. In particular, we provide further evidence that symmetry preserving stationary solutions can be reduced to the eigenstates of the corresponding linear Schr\"odinger equation. Moreover, we have found that the symmetry-breaking solutions can emerge not only from bifurcations, but also from isolated points in the chemical potential--nonlinear interaction diagram. We also have found that there are some moving nodes in the symmetry-breaking solutions.
We study the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of a superfluid Bose-Fermi (BF) mixture in a double-well potential (DWP). The mixture is described by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) for the bosons, coupled to an equation for the order parameter of the Fermi superfluid, which is derived from the respective density functional in the unitarity limit (a similar model applies to the BCS regime, too). Straightforward SSB in the degenerate Fermi gas loaded into a DWP is impossible, as it requires an attractive self-interaction, and the intrinsic nonlinearity in the Fermi gas is repulsive. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that the symmetry breaking is possible in the mixture with attraction between fermions and bosons, like
40K and
87Rb. Numerical results are represented by dependencies of asymmetry parameters for both components on particle numbers of the mixture,
NF and
NB, and by phase diagrams in the
(NF,NB) plane, which displays regions of symmetric and asymmetric ground states. The dynamical picture of the SSB, induced by a gradual transformation of the single-well potential into the DWP, is reported too. An analytical approximation is proposed for the case when the GPE for the boson wave function may be treated by means of the Thomas-Fermi (TF) approximation. Under a special linear relationship between
NF and
NB, the TF approximation allows us to reduce the model to a single equation for the fermionic function, which includes competing repulsive and attractive nonlinear terms. The latter one directly displays the mechanism of the generation of the effective attraction in the Fermi superfluid, mediated by the bosonic component of the mixture.
The Gross-Pitaevskii equation is solved by analytic methods for an external double-well potential that is an infinite square well plus a
δ-function central barrier. We find solutions that have the symmetry of the non-interacting Hamiltonian as well as asymmetric solutions that bifurcate from the symmetric solutions for attractive interactions and from the antisymmetric solutions for repulsive interactions. We present a variational approximation to the asymmetric state as well as an approximate numerical approach. Stability of the states is briefly considered.
Abstract The Gross-Pitaevskii equation is solved by analytic methods for anexternal double-well potential that is an infinite square well plusa δ-function central barrier. We find solutions that havethe symmetry of the non-interacting Hamiltonian as well as asymmetricsolutions that bifurcate from the symmetric solutions for attractive interactions and from the antisymmetric solutions for repulsive interactions. We presenta variational approximation to the asymmetric state as well as anapproximate numerical approach. Stability of the states is briefly considered.
In this work, our primary goal has been to explore the range of validity of two-mode models for Bose-Einstein condensates in double-well potentials. Our derivation, like others, uses symmetric and antisymmetric condensate basis functions for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In what we call an ``improved two-mode model'' (I2M), the tunneling coupling energy explicitly includes a nonlinear interaction term, which has been given previously in the literature but not widely appreciated. We show that when the atom number (and hence the extent of the wave function) in each well vary appreciably with time, the nonlinear interaction term produces a temporal change in the tunneling energy or rate, which has not previously been considered to our knowledge. In addition, we obtain a parameter, labeled ``interaction tunneling,'' that produces a decrease of the tunneling energy when the wave functions in the two wells overlap to some extent. Especially for larger values of the nonlinear interaction term, results from this model produce better agreement with numerical solutions of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation in one and three dimensions, as compared with models that have no interaction term in the tunneling energy. The usefulness of this model is demonstrated by good agreement with recent experimental results for the tunneling oscillation frequency [Albiez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 010402 (2005)]. We also present equations and results for a multimode approach, and use the I2M model to obtain modified equations for the second-quantized version of the Bose-Einstein double-well problem.
We identify all possible classes of solutions for two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) within the Thomas-Fermi (TF) approximation and check these results against numerical simulations of the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations (GPEs). We find that they can be divided into two general categories. The first class contains solutions with a region of overlap between the components. The other class consists of non-overlapping wavefunctions and also contains solutions that do not possess the symmetry of the trap. The chemical potential and average energy can be found for both classes within the TF approximation by solving a set of coupled algebraic equations representing the normalization conditions for each component. A ground state minimizing the energy (within both classes of states) is found for a given set of parameters characterizing the scattering length and confining potential. In the TF approximation, the ground state always shares the symmetry of the trap. However, a full numerical solution of the coupled GPEs, incorporating the kinetic energy of the BEC atoms, can sometimes select a broken-symmetry state as the ground state of the system. We also investigate effects of finite-range interactions on the structure of the ground state.