We investigate the Gross-Pitaevskii equation for a Bose-Einstein condensate in a PT symmetric double-well potential by means of the time-dependent variational principle and numerically exact solutions. A one-dimensional and a fully three-dimensional setup are used. Stationary states are determined and the propagation of wave function is investigated using the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Due to the nonlinearity of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation the potential dependson the wave function and its solutions decide whether or not the Hamiltonian itself is PT symmetric. Stationary solutions with real energy eigenvalues fulfilling exact PT symmetry are found as well as PT broken eigenstates with complex energies. The latter describe decaying or growing probability amplitudes and are not true stationary solutions of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. However, they still provide qualitative information about the time evolution of the wave functions.
We investigate dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a complex external double-well potential that features combined parity and time-reversal symmetry. On the basis of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation we study the effects of the long-ranged anisotropic dipole-dipole interaction on ground and excited states by the use of a time-dependent variational approach. We show that the property of a similar nondipolar condensate of possessing real energy eigenvalues in certain parameter ranges is preserved despite the inclusion of this nonlinear interaction. Furthermore, we present states that break the
PT symmetry and investigate the stability of the distinct stationary solutions. In our dynamical simulations we reveal a complex stabilization mechanism for
PT-symmetric as well as for
PT-broken states which are, in principle, unstable with respect to small perturbations.
We study a BoseāEinstein condensate in a -symmetric double-well potential where particles are coherently injected in one well and removed from the other well. In mean-field approximation the condensate is described by the GrossāPitaevskii equation thus falling into the category of nonlinear non-Hermitian quantum systems. After extending the concept of symmetry to such systems, we apply an analytic continuation to the GrossāPitaevskii equation from complex to bicomplex numbers and show a thorough numerical investigation of the four-dimensional bicomplex eigenvalue spectrum. The continuation introduces additional symmetries to the system which are confirmed by the numerical calculations and furthermore allows us to analyse the bifurcation scenarios and exceptional points of the system. We present a linear matrix model and show the excellent agreement with our numerical results. The matrix model includes both exceptional points found in the double-well potential, namely an EP2 at the tangent bifurcation and an EP3 at the pitchfork bifurcation. When the two bifurcation points coincide the matrix model possesses four degenerate eigenvectors. Close to that point we observe the characteristic features of four interacting modes in both the matrix model and the numerical calculations, which provides clear evidence for the existence of an EP4.
A Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a double-well potential, where atoms are incoupled to one side and extracted from the other, can in the mean-field limit be described by the nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) with a PT symmetric external potential. If the strength of the in- and outcoupling is increased two PT broken states bifurcate from the PT symmetric ground state. At this bifurcation point a stability change of the ground state is expected. However, it is observed that this stability change does not occur exactly at the bifurcation but at a slightly different strength of the in-/outcoupling effect. We investigate a Bose-Einstein condensate in a PT symmetric double-Ī“ potential and calculate the stationary states. The ground stateās stability is analysed by means of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations and it is shown that the difference in the strength of the in-/outcoupling between the bifurcation and the stability change can be completely explained by the norm-dependency of the nonlinear term in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
The observation of
PT symmetry in a coupled optical waveguide system that involves a complex refractive index has been demonstrated impressively in the experiment by R\"uter et al. [Nat. Phys. 6, 192 (2010)]. This is, however, only an optical analog of a quantum system, and it would be highly desirable to observe the manifestation of
PT symmetry and the resulting properties also in a real, experimentally accessible, quantum system. Following a suggestion by Klaiman et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 080402 (2008)], we investigate a
PT-symmetric arrangement of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential, where in one well cold atoms are injected while in the other particles are extracted from the condensate. We investigate, in particular, the effects of the nonlinearity in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation on the
PT properties of the condensate. To study these effects we analyze a simple one-dimensional model system in which the condensate is placed into two
PT-symmetric $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function traps. The analysis will serve as a useful guide for studies of the behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in realistic
PT-symmetric double wells.
An analytical approximation method to clarify the symmetry-breaking stationary solutions to the GrossāPitaevskii equation with symmetric double-well external potential is presented. By this method, we can understand that each symmetry-breaking solution bifurcates from a symmetry-preserving solution as one varies the coupling constant of the nonlinear interaction, and predict the bifurcation point. Also, the method gives a good approximation to the energy eigenvalues of the lower states, symmetry-breaking as well as symmetry-preserving, as long as the nonlinear interaction is not too strong.