This thesis investigates the dynamics of an atomic quantum dot (AQD) coupled to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) via particle exchange and interactions. This is motivated by the possibility of using such a system as a non-destructive probe of the BEC. A review of the physics of a BEC and relevant impurity models is presented. The collisional blockade regime of the AQD is considered, and the AQD is modelled as a spin-1/2 pseudospin. Having expressed the BEC in terms of number and phase, the semi-classical ground state of the system is determined. The fluctuations in number and phase around this ground state are assumed to be small. Using Fermi's golden rule, the decay rates of the system are calculated. The system dynamics are found to be highly dependent on dimensionality and the coupling between AQD and BEC. Having derived the action for this system, it is found that the small phase fluctuation assumption fails in two dimensions and for certain limits in three dimensions. We attempt to circumvent this difficulty using a canonical transformation. The resulting system is related to a biased spin-boson model. Expressing the pseudospin in terms of Schwinger bosons, the self energy for this system is determined. Green's functions for the system are derived by solving Dyson's equation, and a decay rate is extracted. Determining the spin-spin temporal correlation functions by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation is found to be intractable due to the Schwinger boson number constraint. The possibility of avoiding this problem using the Holstein-Primakoff representation in a large-S generalisation of the AQD states is explored. We find that the pseudospin precession can be controlled by tuning the coupling parameters and the interactions in the BEC. In particular, we found two unexpected regimes where the pseudospin precession can be slowed down to arbitrarily small frequencies.
This thesis investigates the dynamics of an atomic quantum dot (AQD) coupled to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) via particle exchange and interactions. This is motivated by the possibility of using such a system as a non-destructive probe of the BEC. A review of the physics of a BEC and relevant impurity models is presented. The collisional blockade regime of the AQD is considered, and the AQD is modelled as a spin-1/2 pseudospin. Having expressed the BEC in terms of number and phase, the semi-classical ground state of the system is determined. The fluctuations in number and phase around this ground state are assumed to be small. Using Fermi's golden rule, the decay rates of the system are calculated. The system dynamics are found to be highly dependent on dimensionality and the coupling between AQD and BEC. Having derived the action for this system, it is found that the small phase fluctuation assumption fails in two dimensions and for certain limits in three dimensions. We attempt to circumvent this difficulty using a canonical transformation. The resulting system is related to a biased spin-boson model. Expressing the pseudospin in terms of Schwinger bosons, the self energy for this system is determined. Green's functions for the system are derived by solving Dyson's equation, and a decay rate is extracted. Determining the spin-spin temporal correlation functions by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation is found to be intractable due to the Schwinger boson number constraint. The possibility of avoiding this problem using the Holstein-Primakoff representation in a large-S generalisation of the AQD states is explored. We find that the pseudospin precession can be controlled by tuning the coupling parameters and the interactions in the BEC. In particular, we found two unexpected regimes where the pseudospin precession can be slowed down to arbitrarily small frequencies.
We consider the dephasing of two internal states |0⟩ and |1⟩ of a trapped impurity atom, a so-called atomic quantum dot (AQD), where only state |1⟩ couples to a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). A direct relation between the dephasing of the internal states of the AQD and the temporal phase fluctuations of the BEC is established. Based on this relation we suggest a scheme to probe BEC phase fluctuations non-destructively via dephasing measurements of the AQD. In particular, the scheme allows to trace the dependence of the phase fluctuations on the trapping geometry of the BEC.
We consider the dephasing of two internal states |0> and |1> of a trapped impurity atom, a so-called atomic quantum dot (AQD), where only state |1> couples to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). A direct relation between the dephasing of the internal states of the AQD and the temporal phase fluctuations of the BEC is established. Based on this relation we suggest a scheme to probe BEC phase fluctuations nondestructively via dephasing measurements of the AQD. In particular, the scheme allows to trace the dependence of the phase fluctuations on the trapping geometry of the BEC.
The concept of coherent states for a quantum system has been generalized in many different ways. One elegant way is the dynamical group approach. The subject of this thesis is the physical application of some dynamical group methods in quantum optics and Bose-Einstein Condensation(BEC) and their use in generalizing some quantum optical states and BEC states. We start by generalizing squeezed coherent states to the displaced squeezed phase number states and studying the signal-to-quantum noise ratio for these states. Following a review of the properties of Kerr states and the basic theory of the deformation of the boson algebra, we present an algebraic approach to Kerr states and generalize them to the squeezed states of the q-parametrized harmonic oscillator. Using the eigenstates of a nonlinear density-dependent annihilation operator of the deformed boson algebra, we propose general time covariant coherent states for any time-independent quantum system. Using the ladder operator approach similar to that of binomial states, we construct interpolating number-coherent states, intermediate states which are generalizations of some fundamental states in quantum optics. Salient statistical properties and non-classical features of these interpolating numbercoherent states are investigated and the interaction with an atomic system in the framework of the Jaynes-Cummings model and the scheme to produce these states are also studied in detail. After briefly reviewing the realization of Bose-Einstein Condensates and relevant theoretical research using mean-field theory, we present a dynamical group approach to Bose-Einstein condensation and the atomic tunnelling between two condensates which interact via a minimal coupling term. First we consider the spectrum of one Bose-Einstein condensate and show that the mean-field dynamics is characterised by the semi-direct product of the 8U(1,1) and Heisenberg-Weyl groups.We then construct a generalized version of the BEC ground states and weakly excited states. It is shown that our states for BEC provide better fits to the experimental results. Then we investigate the tunnelling between the excitations in two condensates which interact via a minimal coupling term. The dynamics of the two interacting Bose systems is characterised by the 80(3,2) group, which leads to an exactly solvable model. Further we describe the dynamics of the tunnelling of the two coupled condensates in terms of the semi-direct product of 80(3,2) and two independent Heisenberg-Weyl groups. From this we obtain the energy spectrum and eigenstates for the two interacting Bose-Einstein condensates, as well as the Josephson current between the two coupled condensates.
After the first experimental realization of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in 1995, BECs have become a subject of intense experimental and theoretical study. In this dissertation, I present our results on the classical and quantum dynamics of BECs at zero temperature under different scenarios. First, I consider the analog of slow light in the collision of two BECs near a Feshbach resonance. The scattering length then becomes a function of the collision energy. I derive a generalization of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation for incorporating this energy dependence. In certain parameter regimes, the group velocity of a BEC traveling through another BEC decreases. I also study the feasibility of an experimental realization of this phenomena. Second, I analyze an experiment in which a BEC in a ring-shaped trap is stirred by a rotating barrier. The phase drop across and current flow through the barrier is measured from spiral-shaped density profiles created by interfering the BEC in the ring-shaped trap and a concentric reference BEC after release from all trapping potentials. I show that a free-particle expansion is sufficient to explain the origin of the spiral pattern and relate the phase drop to the geometry of a spiral. I also bound the expansion times for which the phase drop can be accurately determined and study the effect of inter-atomic interactions on the expansion time scales. Third, I study the dynamics of few-mode BECs when they become dynamically unstable after preparing an initial state at a saddle point of the Hamiltonian. I study the dynamics within the truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) and find that, due to phase-space mixing, the expectation value of an observable relaxes to a steady-state value. Using the action-angle formalism, we derive analytical expressions for the steady-state value and the time evolution towards this value. I apply these general results to two systems: a condensate in a double-well potential and a spin-1 (spinor) condensate. Finally, I study quantum corrections beyond the TWA in the semiclassical limit. I derive general expressions for the dynamics of an observable by using the van Vleck-Gutzwiller propagator and find that the interference of classical paths leads to non-perturbative corrections. As a case study, I consider a single-mode nonlinear oscillator; this system displays collapse and revival of observables. I find that the interference of classical paths, which is absent in the TWA, leads to revivals.
The properties of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential are investigated through a two-mode analysis. An analytic solution for the semiclassical tunnelling and self-trapping dynamics is compared with numerical simulations of the quantum dynamics, which exhibit collapses and revivals for a closed system. A continuous non-destructive measurement technique to monitor the Josephson tunnelling oscillations is presented, in which the condensate in one well dispersively shifts the phase of a coherent probe beam in proportion to atom-number. The evolution of the resulting homodyne photocurrent and Bloch Q distributions shows that oscillations develop even when the initial state possesses phase symmetry. The conditional dynamics of the condensate which result from measurement back-action also appear in certain semiclassical formulations. The homodyne measurement technique is incorporated into a proposed weak-force detector. A maximally entangled initial state, which is the ground state for a double condensate with strong attractive atomic interactions, enables a high-precision measurement. The dynamics of quantum many-body multimode systems of interacting bosons are simulated using phase-space methods. The use of the Wigner technique predicts novel noise effects in fibre solitons. The positive-P representation is used to simulate the formation of mesoscopic Bose-Einstein condensates via evaporative cooling in three dimensional atom traps. The results indicate highly non-classical behaviour near the critical point, and provide evidence for the spontaneous formation of vortices. Comparisons with corresponding mean-field calculations reveal large differences between the semiclassical and fully quantum results. Finally, the possibility of future progress with alternative phase-space methods is considered.
This thesis examines two aspects of the non-equilibrium dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). Our particular interests are the relaxation of near-integrable systems, and the inter-particle correlations present in BECs, both in equilibrium and following an abrupt change in the Hamiltonian. In the first part of this thesis we investigate the stability of solitary wave solutions to a system of two coupled one-dimensional non-linear Schrodinger equations (CNLSE). This system has an integrable point known as the Manakov[1] model which has analytic dark-bright soliton solutions[2]. We break the integrability of this model by varying the inter-species interaction strength, and employ variational and numerical methods in order to find dark-bright solitary wave solutions, away from the integrable point. The time evolution of these states is calculated via numerical integration of the CNLSE, which allows us to assess the stability of these solutions in isolation and to quantify their robustness against collisions with a dark soliton. We find that there is a broad region of the parameter space in which solutions for black-bright (stationary) solitary waves can be found. In this domain, the integrability breaking is revealed only during collisions. Prior to a collision, the numerical solutions are indistinguishable from true solitons, however, the collisional stability of these solitary waves is significantly affected by the extent to which integrability is broken. We find that there is a smooth transition between the non-dispersive particle-like nature of soliton interactions for integrable systems, and the destructive collisions which take place when the system is perturbed far from the integrable point. In the case of moving (grey-bright) solitary waves, we find a more restricted region of the parameter space which admits solitary wave solutions. In this domain we are able to find approximately stable solitary wave solutions using a variational ansatz. The collisional stability of these grey-bright solitary waves is also found to depend upon the extent to which integrability is broken. We conclude that the observation of stable, long-lived dark-bright solitary waves is not sufficient to indicate near-integrability of the two-component system. However, near-integrability may inferred if dark-bright solitary waves are observed to survive multiple collisions. These results are not only of theoretical interest, but may also inform future experiments which explore the behaviour of solitary waves in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates. Following this we investigate the properties of magnetic solitary wave solutions to the CNLSE. We find that the analytic ‘magnetic soliton’ solutions derived in reference [3] are dynamically unstable and relax to non-stationary magnetic solitary wave states over a short timescale. We investigate the collisional dynamics of these magnetic solitary waves and find that these excitations are remarkably robust. In the second part of this thesis we calculate the fluctuations in the number difference between two sub-regions of a Bose-Einstein condensate. This study is motivated by recent experiments performed by the Truscott group at the Australian National University (ANU), which indicate sub- Poissonian fluctuations even for condensates with large thermal depletion. This result cannot easily be reconciled with existing literature, which predicts strongly super-Poissonian fluctuations below the critical temperature (Tc). We develop one-dimensional, and three-dimensional, models to describe these experiments and employ the Bogoliubov formalism to explore the quantum fluctuations of the condensate, which have not previously been studied in detail. We calculate the relative number fluctuations between two halves of the condensate, and also between multiple pairs of spatial bins. For harmonically confined condensates at zero temperature, quantum correlations result in a suppression of the relative number fluctuations between the two halves of the condensate below the shot-noise level. However, the presence of even a small thermal component results in strongly super-Poissonian fluctuations below Tc; this is in agreement with the existing theoretical and experimental results. In addition, we find that the fluctuations of the harmonically confined condensate are non-uniform, with the relative number fluctuations being peaked towards the edges of the condensate. The recent studies of the Truscott group measure the fluctuations after free expansion. We therefore calculate the propagation of correlations following a sudden removal of the harmonic confinement. We find that free expansion results in a strong decrease in the relative number fluctuations. Condensates which exhibit super-Poissonian fluctuations when harmonically confined may therefore display number- squeezing after expansion. A second set of experiments by the Truscott group measured the density fluctuations present in small ‘atom laser’ pulses of atoms out-coupled from their BEC. We also model this procedure and find that immediately after the out-coupling process, the number fluctuations of the out-coupled atomic pulse are approximately Poissonian, irrespective of the correlations present in the atomic reservoir. However, the competing effects of interactions between the atomic pulse and the condensate reservoir, and free expansion of the pulse after out-coupling, can result in the measured fluctuations being either number squeezed or super-Poissonian. Our results will guide future experiments planned by the Truscott group.