This dissertation discusses a number of theoretical models of coupled bosonic modes, all closely related to the Bose-Hubbard dimer. In studying these models, we will repeatedly return to two unifying themes: the classical structure underlying quantum dynamics and the impact of weakly coupling a system to an environment. Or, more succinctly, semiclassical methods and open quantum systems. \n \nOur primary motivation for studying models such as the Bose-Hubbard is their relevance to ongoing ultracold atom experiments. We review these experiments, derive the Bose-Hubbard model in their context and briefly discuss its limitations in the first half of Chapter 1. In its second half, we review the theory of open quantum systems and the master equation description of the dissipative Bose-Hubbard model. This opening chapter constitutes a survey of existing results, rather than original work. \n \nIn Chapter 2, we turn to the mean-field limit of the Bose-Hubbard model. After reviewing the striking localization phenomena predicted by the mean-field (and confirmed by experiment), we identify the first corrections to this picture for the dimer. The most interesting of these is the dynamical tunneling between the self-trapping points of the mean-field. We derive an accurate analytical expression for the tunneling rate using semiclassical techniques. \n \nWe continue studying the dynamics near the self-trapping fixed points in Chapter 3, focusing on corrections to the mean-field that arise at larger nonlinearities and on shorter time scales than dynamical tunneling. We study the impact of dissipation on coherence and entanglement near the fixed points, and explain it in terms of the structure of the classical phase space. \n \nThe last chapter of the dissertation is also devoted to a dissipative bosonic dimer model, but one arising in a very different physical context. Abandoning optical lattices, we consider the problem of formulating a quantum model of operation of the cylindrical anode magnetron, a vacuum tube crossed-field microwave amplifier. We derive an effective dissipative dimer model and study its relationship to the classical description. Our dimer model is a first step towards the analysis of solid-state analogs of such devices.
This dissertation discusses a number of theoretical models of coupled bosonic modes, all closely related to the Bose-Hubbard dimer. In studying these models, we will repeatedly return to two unifying themes: the classical structure underlying quantum dynamics and the impact of weakly coupling a system to an environment. Or, more succinctly, semiclassical methods and open quantum systems. \n \nOur primary motivation for studying models such as the Bose-Hubbard is their relevance to ongoing ultracold atom experiments. We review these experiments, derive the Bose-Hubbard model in their context and briefly discuss its limitations in the first half of Chapter 1. In its second half, we review the theory of open quantum systems and the master equation description of the dissipative Bose-Hubbard model. This opening chapter constitutes a survey of existing results, rather than original work. \n \nIn Chapter 2, we turn to the mean-field limit of the Bose-Hubbard model. After reviewing the striking localization phenomena predicted by the mean-field (and confirmed by experiment), we identify the first corrections to this picture for the dimer. The most interesting of these is the dynamical tunneling between the self-trapping points of the mean-field. We derive an accurate analytical expression for the tunneling rate using semiclassical techniques. \n \nWe continue studying the dynamics near the self-trapping fixed points in Chapter 3, focusing on corrections to the mean-field that arise at larger nonlinearities and on shorter time scales than dynamical tunneling. We study the impact of dissipation on coherence and entanglement near the fixed points, and explain it in terms of the structure of the classical phase space. \n \nThe last chapter of the dissertation is also devoted to a dissipative bosonic dimer model, but one arising in a very different physical context. Abandoning optical lattices, we consider the problem of formulating a quantum model of operation of the cylindrical anode magnetron, a vacuum tube crossed-field microwave amplifier. We derive an effective dissipative dimer model and study its relationship to the classical description. Our dimer model is a first step towards the analysis of solid-state analogs of such devices.
In Chapter 1 we set up the physical and mathematical framework for the description of interacting
bosons on a lattice. After a brief introduction to the basic concepts of Bose-Einstein condensation, and
how the condensate can be manipulated using optical lattices, we derive the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian
(BHH) which is the paradigm model as far as the quantum description is concerned. Then the semiclassical
limit of the BHH – the discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation (DNLS) – as well as the mean-field
(classical) description, the so-called Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE), is discussed. We give an overview
of the relevant literature and of the various physical systems that are captured by the BHH including,
among others, arrays of Josephson junctions and bond vibrations in small molecules. The chapter ends
with an outline of the remaining thesis.
In Chapter 2, we look at some interesting experiments done in cold bosonic systems. Ostensibly,
done to realize the dc and ac Josephson effect in a system of cold bosons, it was soon found that the
system can show some rather interesting non-linear behavior. This includes features such as solitons
and breathers , but most interestingly, it shows the damping of the center-of-mass motion. Theoretical
explanations are given for both the experiments. The damping of center-of-mass of the system is seen as
a result of modulational instability. We give a different interpretation to this opening up lines for further
investigations. We outline these at the end of the chapter.
In Chapter 3, we discuss various experiments which contradicted the idea of a sharp modulational
instability. Rather, the loss of coherence is smeared out over a large domain. We then reproduce some
calculations from the literature showing how the dissipation can be thought of as arising from quantum
phase slips. We calculate the tunneling rates for quantum phase slips and show a phase diagram demarcating
stable and unstable regions of current which have been have obtained from mean-field calculations
via the Gutzwiller ansatz.
In Chapter 4, we look at the problem in details analyzing it as a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. The
framework of Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid is actually a non-perturbative tool through which we can investigate
an one-dimensional interacting bosonic fluid. We look at two possible mechanisms of decay
of current- We look at the effect of a weak link in a Josephson Junction array as well as local quantum
phase slips on a bosonic superfluid. We find that quantum phase slips are actually irrelevant under
renormalisation group in both cases and the supercurrent is revived.
In chapter 5, we look at the non-linear dynamics of the structures in greater detail, thus elucidating
chaos. This mechanism of chaos is different from all realizations of chaos known so far and is a result of
phase fluctuations, which are encoded by quantum phase slips.
We study the connection between the semiclassical phase space of the Bose-Hubbard dimer and inherently quantum phenomena in this model, such as entanglement and dissipation-induced coherence. Near the semiclassical self-trapping fixed points, the dynamics of Einstein-Podolski-Rosen (EPR) entanglement and condensate fraction consists of beats among just three eigenstates. Since persistent EPR entangled states arise only in the neighborhood of these fixed points, our analysis explains essentially all of the entanglement dynamics in the system. We derive accurate analytical approximations by expanding about the strong-coupling limit; surprisingly, their realm of validity is nearly the entire parameter space for which the self-trapping fixed points exist. Finally, we show significant enhancement of entanglement can be produced by applying localized dissipation.
In this thesis, we study interacting bosons on lattices consisting of a few sites. The main focus is on their response to external driving fields, their transport and decay properties. We address fundamental questions of quantum classical correspondence and investigate the implications of interactions in the transport properties of (ultra-)cold atom devices. Quantum mechanically, we describe bosons on lattices using a parametric Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian while the corresponding classical limit is described by the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation.In the first part of this thesis we focus on the chaotic regime of the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian. We investigate the parametric change of eigenstates as the coupling strength between neighboring sites is varied, using perturbative and semiclassical methods. We then turn to the quantum evolution of driven interacting bosonic systems and study the resulting quantum dynamics and the irreversibility (fidelity) of the quantum motion.In the second part we initiate the study of quantum pumping/stirring in Bose-Einstein condensates with the aim to identify optimal pumping cycles and propose such a device in order to probe the interatomic interactions. Finally, in the last part we focus on the interplay of intrinsic dynamics with coupling to the continuum and investigate the structure of the resonance widths of a Bose-Hubbard dimer which is coupled to the continuum at one of the sites using an effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian formalism.
The present thesis is devoted to the dynamics in open or closed many-body bosonic systems, with the use of beyond mean-field methods. In the first part, inspired by the state-of-the-art experiments, we study the dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensation which is loaded in an optical lattice with localized loss channels for the atoms. We prove that the particular form of the dissipation can help us to control the many-body dynamics. The loss allows the local manipulation of the system’s coherence properties and creates attractive fixed points in the classical (mean-field) phase space. We predict the dynamical creation of stable nonlinear structures like discrete bright and dark solitons. Furthermore, for specific initial states, the systems produces highly entangled and long-living states, which are of high relevance for practical applications. The first part of this thesis ends with the study of non-equilibrium bosonic transport across optical one-dimensional lattices. In the second part, we present techniques for bosonic many-body systems which are based on path integrals. We analyze the Bose-Einstein condensation phenomenon by using tools from quantum information theory and field theory. Finally, we introduce a coherent state path integral formalism in the continuum, which allows us the systematic development of approximate methods for the study of bosons in optical lattices.
This project studies the system formed by two coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, also known as the bosonic Josephson junction. A double-well model is used to trap the ultracold atoms, and special attention is paid to the understudied case of asymmetric wells. A brief introduction to Bose- Einstein condensates and their relationship to optical lattices is provided. The Bose-Hubbard model restricted to two wells is also described, and a large number of particles is considered, allowing for the use of the semiclassical mean-field approximation. By introducing anisotropy into this system, a symmetry breaking in phase space is found, which can be interpreted as a dissipative process emerging in semiclassical dynamics, although the total particle flux is conserved. Additionally, this same system is studied using the spin formalism considering a large number of bosons. Under this approach, the anisotropy affects the system in the same way as a Zeeman effect, where the dimer behaves as an N/2 spin model in the presence of an external magnetic field proportional to ∆. The expectation values of the spin components and their variances are studied, especially for ˆSz , which by definition represents the difference of particles for both wells and depends strongly on the anisotropy. The quantum fluctuations for ˆSx, ˆSy, and ˆSz decrease with increasing particle number, particularly as ∝ 1/N , suggesting that ˆSx, ˆSy, and ˆSz becomes more quantum localized near the semiclassical limit.
Originally, the Hubbard model was derived for describing the behavior of strongly correlated electrons in solids. However, for over a decade now, variations of it have also routinely been implemented with ultracold atoms in optical lattices, allowing their study in a clean, essentially defect-free environment. Here, we review some of the vast literature on this subject, with a focus on more recent non-standard forms of the Hubbard model. After giving an introduction to standard (fermionic and bosonic) Hubbard models, we discuss briefly common models for mixtures, as well as the so-called extended Bose-Hubbard models, that include interactions between neighboring sites, next-neighbor sites, and so on. The main part of the review discusses the importance of additional terms appearing when refining the tight-binding approximation for the original physical Hamiltonian. Even when restricting the models to the lowest Bloch band is justified, the standard approach neglects the density-induced tunneling (which has the same origin as the usual on-site interaction). The importance of these contributions is discussed for both contact and dipolar interactions. For sufficiently strong interactions, the effects related to higher Bloch bands also become important even for deep optical lattices. Different approaches that aim at incorporating these effects, mainly via dressing the basis, Wannier functions with interactions, leading to effective, density-dependent Hubbard-type models, are reviewed. We discuss also examples of Hubbard-like models that explicitly involve higher p orbitals, as well as models that dynamically couple spin and orbital degrees of freedom. Finally, we review mean-field nonlinear Schrödinger models of the Salerno type that share with the non-standard Hubbard models nonlinear coupling between the adjacent sites. In that part, discrete solitons are the main subject of consideration. We conclude by listing some open problems, to be addressed in the future.