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PT-symmetric dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates : embedding in a Hermitian system and higher-order exceptional points

Robin Gutöhrlein

Published Jan 1, 2017• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Open double-well Bose-Einstein condensate systems use complex potentials to describe the in-and and outfluxes of atoms.The imaginary part of the potentials allows for the effective description of in-and out-coupling of particles.If such systems exhibit balanced gain and loss, they are effectively described by a non-Hermitian P T -symmetric Hamiltonian.P T -symmetric states obeying parity and time reversal symmetry have been shown to exist.

DOI
10.18419/opus-9204

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In open double-well Bose–Einstein condensate systems which balance in- and outfluxes of atoms and which are effectively described by a non-Hermitian -symmetric Hamiltonian -symmetric states have been shown to exist. -symmetric states obey the combined parity and time reversal symmetry. We tackle the question of how the in- and outfluxes can be realized and introduce a Hermitian system in which two -symmetric subsystems are embedded. This system no longer requires an in- and outcoupling to and from the environment. We show that the subsystems still have -symmetric states. In addition we examine what degree of detail is necessary to correctly model the -symmetric properties and the bifurcation structure of such a system. We examine a four-mode matrix model and a system described by the full Gross–Pitaevskii equation in one dimension. We see that a simple matrix model correctly describes the qualitative properties of the system. For sufficiently isolated wells there is also quantitative agreement with the more advanced system descriptions. We also investigate which properties the wave functions of a system must fulfil to allow for -symmetric states. In particular the requirements for the phase difference between different parts of the system are examined.

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Open double-well Bose-Einstein condensate systems use complex potentials to describe the in-and and outfluxes of atoms.The imaginary part of the potentials allows for the effective description of in-and out-coupling of particles.If such systems exhibit balanced gain and loss, they are effectively described by a non-Hermitian P T -symmetric Hamiltonian.P T -symmetric states obeying parity and time reversal symmetry have been shown to exist.
Realizing PT{\mathcal{P}}{\mathcal{T}}PT-symmetric BEC subsystems in closed Hermitian systems
In open double-well Bose–Einstein condensate systems which balance in- and outfluxes of atoms and which are effectively described by a non-Hermitian -symmetric Hamiltonian -symmetric states have been shown to exist. -symmetric states obey the combined parity and time reversal symmetry. We tackle the question of how the in- and outfluxes can be realized and introduce a Hermitian system in which two -symmetric subsystems are embedded. This system no longer requires an in- and outcoupling to and from the environment. We show that the subsystems still have -symmetric states. In addition we examine what degree of detail is necessary to correctly model the -symmetric properties and the bifurcation structure of such a system. We examine a four-mode matrix model and a system described by the full Gross–Pitaevskii equation in one dimension. We see that a simple matrix model correctly describes the qualitative properties of the system. For sufficiently isolated wells there is also quantitative agreement with the more advanced system descriptions. We also investigate which properties the wave functions of a system must fulfil to allow for -symmetric states. In particular the requirements for the phase difference between different parts of the system are examined.
Gain and loss to the wave function of quantum mechanics can in a convenient way be modelled by effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. Imaginary contributions to the potential introduce source and drain terms for the probability amplitude. A special class of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are those which possess a parity-time symmetry. In spite of their non-Hermiticity these Hamiltonians allow for real energy eigenvalues, i.e. the existence of stationary states in the presence of balanced gain and loss. This effect has been identified theoretically in a large number of quantum systems. Its existence has also been proved experimentally in coupled optical wave guides. The wave guides are, however, only optical analogues of quantum systems. In the first part of this thesis it is shown from the theoretical side that Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well setup are an ideal candidate for a first experimental realisation of a genuine quantum system with parity-time symmetry. When particles are removed from one well and coherently injected into the other the external potential is parity-time symmetric. To investigate the system the underlying time-independent and time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equations are solved numerically. It turns out that a subtle interplay between the nonlinearity of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and the gain-loss effect leads to a complicated dynamics of the condensate wave function. However, the most important result is the existence of stationary states that are sufficiently stable to be observable in an experiment. Two suggestions for experimental realisations are presented. They are based on the idea of embedding the non-Hermitian parity-time-symmetric system into a larger structure described by a Hermitian Hamiltonian. A further effect of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are so-called exceptional points, at which two resonances coalesce such that both their eigenvalues and wave functions become identical. It is shown that an exceptional point can unambiguously be identified by a characteristic non-exponential decay of the resonances. With numerically exact calculations for the hydrogen atom in crossed electric and magnetic fields this effect is verified in an experimentally accessible quantum system. The second part of the thesis is devoted to semiclassical Gaussian approximations to the Boltzmann operator, which have become an important tool for the investigation of thermodynamic properties of clusters of atoms at low temperatures. A numerically cheap frozen Gaussian approximation to the imaginary time propagator with a width matrix especially suited for the dynamics of clusters is developed. It is applied to the cases of Ar3 and Ar6. For these clusters classical-like transitions in one step from a bounded moiety to free particles are found for increasing temperatures. Additionally, the structure of the Ar6 cluster is studied in the bound configuration and during the dissociation. Quantum effects, i.e. differences with the purely classical case, manifest themselves in the low-temperature behaviour of the mean energy and specific heat as well as in a slight shift of the transition temperature. A first-order correction to the semiclassical propagator is used to improve the results of the calculation for Ar3, and it is shown how the correction can be used to objectively assess the validity of the frozen Gaussian approximation.
In open double-well Bose-Einstein condensate systems which balance in- and outuxes of atoms and which are eectively described by a non-hermitian PT - symmetric HamiltonianPT -symmetric states have been shown to exist. We tackle the question of how these in- and outuxes can be realized and introduce model systems in whichPT -symmetric subsystems are embedded into a closed hermitian system. We show that such subsystems still havePT -symmetric states. In addition we examine what degree of detail is necessary to describe the PT -symmetric properties and the bifurcation structure of such a system correctly by investigating a four-mode matrix model and the full Gross-Pitaevskii equation in one dimension. We also investigate which properties the wave functions of a system must full to allow for PT -symmetric states. In particular the requirements for the phase dierence
We show how non-Hermitian potentials used to describe probability gain and loss in effective theories of open quantum systems can be achieved by a coupling of the system to an environment. We do this by coupling a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an attractive double-$\ensuremath{\delta}$ potential to a condensate fraction outside the double well. We investigate which requirements have to be imposed on possible environments with a linear coupling to the system. This information is used to determine an environment required for stationary states of the BEC. To investigate the stability of the system we use fully numerical simulations of the dynamics. It turns out that the approach is viable and possible setups for the realization of a PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric potential for a BEC are accessible. Vulnerabilities of the whole system to small perturbations can be attributed to the singular character of the simplified $\ensuremath{\delta}$-shaped potential used in our model.
Inspired by the discovery of real energy spectra of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians obeying parity-time (PT) symmetry, many proposals and relevant experiments have been suggested and implemented for the realization of PT-symmetric Hamiltonians in various physical systems. Among them PT-symmetric atomic gases are of great interest as they possess many unique advantages, including: (i) the possession of active PT symmetry with balanced optical gain and loss, (ii) the ability to be extended to high-dimensional ones, and (iii) the feasibility to acquire enhanced Kerr nonlinearity based on the resonance character between light and atoms. Here, we review the new progresses made on the study of PT symmetry in coherent atomic gases since our last review paper [Advances in Physics: X, 2, 737–783 (2017)]. Particularly, we focus on the newly emerged research topics in this direction, including nonlocal nonlinear effect, non-Hermitian quantum effect, exceptional point and associated phenomenon, and non-Hermitian skin effect with PT symmetry. Perspectives and potential applications of the subject are also discussed.
The understanding of nonlinear PT symmetric quantum systems, arising for example in the theory of Bose–Einstein condensates in PT symmetric potentials, is widely based on numerical investigations, and little is known about generic features induced by the interplay of PT symmetry and nonlinearity. To gain deeper insights it is important to have analytically solvable toy models at hand. In the present paper the stationary states of a simple toy model of a PT symmetric system previously introduced in [1, 2] are investigated. The model can be interpreted as a simple description of a Bose–Einstein condensate in a PT symmetric double well trap in a two-mode approximation. The eigenvalues and eigenstates of the system can be explicitly calculated in a straightforward manner; the resulting structures resemble those that have recently been found numerically for a more realistic PT symmetric double delta potential. In addition, a continuation of the system is introduced that allows an interpretation in terms of a simple linear matrix model. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘Quantum physics with non-Hermitian operators’.