Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2508.01090 · The European Physical Journal D

Analytical description of collisional decoherence in a BEC double-well accelerometer

K. Korshynska, Sebastian Ulbricht

Published Mar 1, 2026• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract BEC-based quantum sensors offer a huge, yet not fully explored potential in gravimetry and accelerometry. In this paper, we study a possible setup for such a device, which is a weakly interacting Bose gas trapped in a double-well potential. In such a trap, the gas is known to exhibit Josephson oscillations, which rely on the coherence between the potential wells. Applying the density matrix approach, we consider transitions between the coherent, partially incoherent, and fully incoherent states of the Bose gas. We provide an analytical description of the collisional decoherence due to weak interactions, causing the Josephson oscillations to decay with time. In particular, we give the mathematical link between that decay in the density matrix approach and its interpretation in terms of phase fluctuations. To investigate the potential of the double-well setup as a quantum sensor, we apply additional external acceleration to the system. The interplay of collisional interaction and acceleration leads to an additional shift of the oscillation frequency. We give the analytical expression for this shift and estimate the sensitivity of a hypothetical BEC double-well accelerometer based on that effect. Graphic Abstract Analytical description of collisional decoherence in a BEC double-well accelerometer

DOI
10.1140/epjd/s10053-026-01134-x

Related papers

JOSEPHSON DYNAMICS OF A BOSE–EINSTEIN CONDENSATE IN AN ACCELERATED DOUBLE-WELL POTENTIAL

Aranya B. Bhattacherjee

Motivated by a recent experiment on Bloch oscillation of Bose–Einstein condensates (BEC) in accelerated optical lattices, we consider the Josephson dynamics of a BEC in an accelerated double-well potential. We show that acceleration suppresses coherent population / phase oscillation between the two wells. Accelerating the double-well renders the Josephson coupling energy EJ time-dependent and this emerges as a source of dissipation. This dissipative mechanism helps to stabilize the system. The results are used to interpret a recent experimental result (M. Jona-Lasinio, O. Morsh, M. Cristiani E. Arimonod and C. Menotti, cond-mat / 0501572).

arXiv:cond-mat/0506407•International Journal of Modern Physics B•Mar 20, 2007•0 citations

Strong-coupling dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensate in a double-well trap

Valentin O. Nesterenko, A N Novikov, E. Suraud

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.

arXiv:1205.3687•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Oct 24, 2012•5 citations

Quantum decoherence of an anharmonic oscillator monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate

Daniel Alonso, S. Brouard, D. Sokolovski

The dynamics of a quantum anharmonic oscillator whose position is monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a symmetric double well potential is studied. The (nonexponential) decoherence induced on the oscillator by the measuring device is analyzed. A detailed quasiclassical and quantum analysis is presented. In the first case, for an arbitrary initial coherent state, two different decoherence regimes are observed: an initial Gaussian decay followed by a power law decay for longer times. The characteristic time scales of both regimes are reported. Analytical approximated expressions are obtained in the full quantum case where algebraic time decay of decoherence is observed.

arXiv:1410.7577•Physical Review A•Sep 11, 2014•4 citations

Interaction-modulated tunneling dynamics of a mixture of Bose-Fermi superfluid

Hong-Ping Xu, Zhen-Zhen He, Zi-Fa Yu +1 more

In this paper, we study the interaction-modulated tunneling dynamics of a Bose-Fermi superfluid mixture, where a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with weak repulsive interaction is confined in a symmetric deep double-well potential and an equally populated two-component Fermi gas in a harmonic potential symmetrically is positioned in the center of the double-well potential. The tunneling between the two wells is modulated by fermions trapped in a harmonic potential. When the temperature is adequately low and the bosonic particle number is adequately large, we can employ the mean-field theory to describe the evolution of the BEC in the double-well potential through the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. For the Fermi gas in the harmonic potential trap, we consider the case where the inter-fermion interaction is tuned on the deep Bose-Einstein condensate of the inter-fermion Feshbach resonance, where two fermions of spin-up and spin-down form a two-body bound state. Within the regime, the Fermi gas is well described by a condensate of these fermionic dimers, and hence can be simulated as well by a Gross-Pitaevskii equation of dimers. The inter-species interactions couple the dynamics of the two species, which results in interesting features in the tunneling oscillations. The dynamic equations of the BEC in the double-well potential is described by a two-mode approximation. Coupling it with time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation of the harmonically potential trapped molecular BEC, we numerically investigate the dynamical evolution of the Boson-Fermi hybrid system under different initial conditions. It is found that the interaction among fermions in a harmonic potential leads to strong non-linearity in the oscillations of the bosons in the double-well potential and enriches the tunneling dynamics of the bosons. Especially, it strengthens macroscopic quantum self-trapping. And the macroscopic quantum self-trapping can be expressed in three forms: the phase tends to be negative and monotonically decreases with time, the phase evolves with time, and the phase tends to be positive and increases monotonically with time. This means that it is possible the tunneling dynamics of the BEC in double-well potential is adjustable. Our results can be verified experimentally in a Bose-Fermi superfluid mixture by varying different interaction parameters via Feshbach resonance and confinement-induced resonance.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2022•1 citation

One-BEC-species coherent oscillations with frequency controlled by a second species atom number

L. Morales-Molina, E Arévalo

Abstract Controlling the tunneling of atoms of one species using a different atom species is a fundamental step in the development of a new class of atom quantum devices, where detection, motion control, and other functions over the atoms, can be achieved by exploiting the interaction between two different atomic species. Here, we theoretically study coherent oscillations of a non-self-interacting Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) species in a triple-well potential controlled by a self-interacting species self-trapped in the central well of the potential. In this system, a blockade, due to the interspecies interaction, prevents atoms of the non-self-interacting species from populating the central well. Thus, for an initial population imbalance between the left- and right-hand wells of the non-self-interacting species, coherent BEC oscillations are induced between these two wells, resembling those of Rabi-like BEC oscillations in a double-well potential. The oscillation period is found to scale linearly with the number of self-trapped atoms as well as with the interspecies interaction strength. This behavior is corroborated by the quantum many-particle and the mean-field models of the system. We show that BEC oscillations can be described by using an effective bosonic Josephson junction with a tunneling amplitude that depends on the number of the self-trapped atoms in the central well. We also consider the effect of the self-trapped atom losses on the coherent oscillations. We show, by using quantum trajectories, that this type of losses leads to a dynamical change in the oscillation period of the non-self-interacting species, which in turn allows the number of self-trapped atoms lost from the system to be estimated.

New Journal of Physics•Dec 7, 2021•3 citations

Adiabatic splitting and self-trapping of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential

Carlo Ottaviani, V. Ahufinger, R. Corbalán +1 more

Bose Einstein condensates (BECs) in double well potentials have drawn a lot of attention for the possibilities they offer to study fundamental quantum mechanical effects at the macroscopic level as well as for potential applications like interferometry, high precision measurements or thermometry. In contrast to Josephson junctions realized in superconductors and superfluids, in BEC the interatomic interactions play a crucial role leading to anharmonic Josephson oscillations, if the initial population imbalance of the two wells is below a critical value, and to macroscopic quantum self-trapping i.e, inhibition of large amplitude Josephson oscillations above the threshold for the population imbalance. In this paper, a novel technique to adiabatically control of BEC in a double-well potential is proposed. The adiabatic dynamics of a BEC in a double well potential can be described in terms of a dark variable resulting from a combination of the population imbalance and the spatial atomic coherence.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2009•0 citations
Abstract BEC-based quantum sensors offer a huge, yet not fully explored potential in gravimetry and accelerometry. In this paper, we study a possible setup for such a device, which is a weakly interacting Bose gas trapped in a double-well potential. In such a trap, the gas is known to exhibit Josephson oscillations, which rely on the coherence between the potential wells. Applying the density matrix approach, we consider transitions between the coherent, partially incoherent, and fully incoherent states of the Bose gas. We provide an analytical description of the collisional decoherence due to weak interactions, causing the Josephson oscillations to decay with time. In particular, we give the mathematical link between that decay in the density matrix approach and its interpretation in terms of phase fluctuations. To investigate the potential of the double-well setup as a quantum sensor, we apply additional external acceleration to the system. The interplay of collisional interaction and acceleration leads to an additional shift of the oscillation frequency. We give the analytical expression for this shift and estimate the sensitivity of a hypothetical BEC double-well accelerometer based on that effect. Graphic Abstract Analytical description of collisional decoherence in a BEC double-well accelerometer
Motivated by a recent experiment on Bloch oscillation of Bose–Einstein condensates (BEC) in accelerated optical lattices, we consider the Josephson dynamics of a BEC in an accelerated double-well potential. We show that acceleration suppresses coherent population / phase oscillation between the two wells. Accelerating the double-well renders the Josephson coupling energy EJ time-dependent and this emerges as a source of dissipation. This dissipative mechanism helps to stabilize the system. The results are used to interpret a recent experimental result (M. Jona-Lasinio, O. Morsh, M. Cristiani E. Arimonod and C. Menotti, cond-mat / 0501572).
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.
The dynamics of a quantum anharmonic oscillator whose position is monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a symmetric double well potential is studied. The (nonexponential) decoherence induced on the oscillator by the measuring device is analyzed. A detailed quasiclassical and quantum analysis is presented. In the first case, for an arbitrary initial coherent state, two different decoherence regimes are observed: an initial Gaussian decay followed by a power law decay for longer times. The characteristic time scales of both regimes are reported. Analytical approximated expressions are obtained in the full quantum case where algebraic time decay of decoherence is observed.
In this paper, we study the interaction-modulated tunneling dynamics of a Bose-Fermi superfluid mixture, where a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with weak repulsive interaction is confined in a symmetric deep double-well potential and an equally populated two-component Fermi gas in a harmonic potential symmetrically is positioned in the center of the double-well potential. The tunneling between the two wells is modulated by fermions trapped in a harmonic potential. When the temperature is adequately low and the bosonic particle number is adequately large, we can employ the mean-field theory to describe the evolution of the BEC in the double-well potential through the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. For the Fermi gas in the harmonic potential trap, we consider the case where the inter-fermion interaction is tuned on the deep Bose-Einstein condensate of the inter-fermion Feshbach resonance, where two fermions of spin-up and spin-down form a two-body bound state. Within the regime, the Fermi gas is well described by a condensate of these fermionic dimers, and hence can be simulated as well by a Gross-Pitaevskii equation of dimers. The inter-species interactions couple the dynamics of the two species, which results in interesting features in the tunneling oscillations. The dynamic equations of the BEC in the double-well potential is described by a two-mode approximation. Coupling it with time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation of the harmonically potential trapped molecular BEC, we numerically investigate the dynamical evolution of the Boson-Fermi hybrid system under different initial conditions. It is found that the interaction among fermions in a harmonic potential leads to strong non-linearity in the oscillations of the bosons in the double-well potential and enriches the tunneling dynamics of the bosons. Especially, it strengthens macroscopic quantum self-trapping. And the macroscopic quantum self-trapping can be expressed in three forms: the phase tends to be negative and monotonically decreases with time, the phase evolves with time, and the phase tends to be positive and increases monotonically with time. This means that it is possible the tunneling dynamics of the BEC in double-well potential is adjustable. Our results can be verified experimentally in a Bose-Fermi superfluid mixture by varying different interaction parameters via Feshbach resonance and confinement-induced resonance.
Abstract Controlling the tunneling of atoms of one species using a different atom species is a fundamental step in the development of a new class of atom quantum devices, where detection, motion control, and other functions over the atoms, can be achieved by exploiting the interaction between two different atomic species. Here, we theoretically study coherent oscillations of a non-self-interacting Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) species in a triple-well potential controlled by a self-interacting species self-trapped in the central well of the potential. In this system, a blockade, due to the interspecies interaction, prevents atoms of the non-self-interacting species from populating the central well. Thus, for an initial population imbalance between the left- and right-hand wells of the non-self-interacting species, coherent BEC oscillations are induced between these two wells, resembling those of Rabi-like BEC oscillations in a double-well potential. The oscillation period is found to scale linearly with the number of self-trapped atoms as well as with the interspecies interaction strength. This behavior is corroborated by the quantum many-particle and the mean-field models of the system. We show that BEC oscillations can be described by using an effective bosonic Josephson junction with a tunneling amplitude that depends on the number of the self-trapped atoms in the central well. We also consider the effect of the self-trapped atom losses on the coherent oscillations. We show, by using quantum trajectories, that this type of losses leads to a dynamical change in the oscillation period of the non-self-interacting species, which in turn allows the number of self-trapped atoms lost from the system to be estimated.
Bose Einstein condensates (BECs) in double well potentials have drawn a lot of attention for the possibilities they offer to study fundamental quantum mechanical effects at the macroscopic level as well as for potential applications like interferometry, high precision measurements or thermometry. In contrast to Josephson junctions realized in superconductors and superfluids, in BEC the interatomic interactions play a crucial role leading to anharmonic Josephson oscillations, if the initial population imbalance of the two wells is below a critical value, and to macroscopic quantum self-trapping i.e, inhibition of large amplitude Josephson oscillations above the threshold for the population imbalance. In this paper, a novel technique to adiabatically control of BEC in a double-well potential is proposed. The adiabatic dynamics of a BEC in a double well potential can be described in terms of a dark variable resulting from a combination of the population imbalance and the spatial atomic coherence.