We investigate dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in a single-well potential using the mode-coupling method. Symmetry is shown to play a key role in the coupling between modes. A proper mode-coupling theory of the dynamics of BECs in a single-well potential should include at least four modes. In this context, the ideal BEC system can be decomposed into two independent subsystems when the coupling is caused by external potential perturbation and is linear. The mode dynamics of non-ideal BECs with interaction shows rich behavior. The combination of nonlinear coupling and initial condition leads to the different regimes of mode dynamics, from regularity to non-regularity, which also indicates a change of the dependence of coupling on the symmetry of modes.
We investigate dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in a single-well potential using the mode-coupling method. Symmetry is shown to play a key role in the coupling between modes. A proper mode-coupling theory of the dynamics of BECs in a single-well potential should include at least four modes. In this context, the ideal BEC system can be decomposed into two independent subsystems when the coupling is caused by external potential perturbation and is linear. The mode dynamics of non-ideal BECs with interaction shows rich behavior. The combination of nonlinear coupling and initial condition leads to the different regimes of mode dynamics, from regularity to non-regularity, which also indicates a change of the dependence of coupling on the symmetry of modes.
We examine the nonlinear dynamical behavior of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential. Considering a condensate with large number of atoms, such that it can be described using the mean field theory, we separate the spinor dynamics from the spatial dynamics under the single-mode approximation. We limit ourselves to certain initial conditions under which the spatial mode is frozen so that we can focus on the spinor dynamics only. Identifying collective spin variables of our system, we derive the corresponding nonlinear equations of motion for them. Employing standard stability analysis, we find and characterize fixed points of the system. For a wide range of physical parameters such as tunneling strength and non-linear interactions, as well as for various initial preparations of the system, we identify qualitatively different dynamical regimes possible in the system. In particular, complete and incomplete oscillations of spin variables between quantum wells are found. We also show that by bringing some fixed points close to each other in the phase space of the system, it is possible to induce amplitude modulation to those otherwise regular tunneling oscillations.
Josephson effect of Bose-Einstein condensate in double-well potential is an obvious manifestation of macroscopic quantum coherence. Most of researches focus on the symmetric double-well potential. In this work, we investigate the dynamic of Bose-Einstein condensates in an asymmetric double-well potential by using two-mode theory and computer simulation. In the absence of the interaction between atoms, the dynamic equation of condensate can be solved analytically. The amplitude as a function of energy difference of two wells is obtained. We can find that the change of energy difference will lead to the different dynamic behaviors of condensate. If the energy difference is relatively large, the condensate will primarily occupy the well that is occupied more than the other well at the beginning time. It is interesting that such a trap phenomenon is not dependent on the position of the high energy potential well nor the position of low energy potential well. If the energy difference becomes small, the tunneling and oscillation of condensate will be enhanced. When the interaction between atoms is present, our numerical calculations show that as the nonlinear interaction increases, the dynamic behavior of condensate exhibits different characteristics, such as trapping in a well, enhancing the tunneling and oscillation between two wells, and enhancing the trapping in a well at large nonlinear interaction, which is similar to the dynamic change caused by the energy difference in the case of ideal condensate. That is to say, on the one hand, the nonlinear interaction can lead to the trap of condensate as well as the dynamic trap to happen in symmetric double-well potential. On the other hand, the nonlinearity can promote the tunneling of condensate, counteracting the effect of the asymmetry of potential. And, this counteracting effect is related to the difference in energy between asymmetric potential wells. To understand the underlying mechanism, the full dynamic behavior of two-mode model is illustrated and the dynamic transition can be seen clearly. Combining the results obtained with and without interaction, regarding nonlinear interaction as effective potential provides a clear way to explain dynamic transition of condensate in an asymmetric double-well potential. In addition, we also perform the numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and the results are consistent with the conclusions obtained by using the two-mode theory.
By developing a three-mode approximation, we derive dynamical equations governing a condensate in a symmetric three-well potential. Based on the dynamical equations, we numerically simulate the dynamical properties of a Bose–Einstein condensate in a symmetric three-well potential. It is shown that, for the zero-phase mode, atomic population in each well oscillates periodically with the amplitude dependent on the initial conditions, and there may exist a critical initial distribution. However, for the π-phase mode, it is possible for the system to exhibit a set of behaviors directly dependent on the ratio between the nonlinearity induced by the atom-atom interactions and the coupling of neighboring wells.
We apply the concepts of nonlinear guided-wave optics to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an external potential. As an example, we consider a parabolic double-well potential and derive coupled-mode equations for the complex amplitudes of the BEC macroscopic collective modes. Our equations describe different regimes of the condensate dynamics, including the nonlinear Josephson effect for any separation between the wells. We demonstrate macroscopic self-trapping for both repulsive and attractive interactions, and confirm our results by direct numerical solution of the Gross-Pitaevskii-equation.
We demonstrate that dynamical symmetry plays a crucial role in determining the structure of the eigenspectra of spinor Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). In particular, the eigenspectra of spin-1 and spin-2 BECs in the single-mode approximation are shown to be completely determined by dynamical symmetries, where a spin-2 BEC corresponds to the U(5) limit of the interacting boson model in nuclear physics. The eigenspectrum of a spin-3 BEC is solved analytically for a specific class of coupling constants, while it is shown that dynamical symmetry alone is not sufficient to determine the spectrum for arbitrary coupling constants. We also study the low-lying eigenspectra of spin-1 and spin-2 BECs in the absence of external magnetic field, and find, in particular, that the quasidegenerate spectra emerge for antiferromagnetic and cyclic phases. This implies that these systems are highly susceptible to external perturbations and may undergo symmetry-breaking transitions to other states upon increasing the system's size.
The quantum nonlinear dynamics of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a double-well potential is studied. Using a double-well single-particle potential model system and a two-mode approximation, results showed that the coherent oscillations resulting from tunneling are suppressed when the number of atoms is greater than a critical value. The spectrum if nonresonant light scattered by the condensate to include an asymmetric double peak structure with peak separation and relative heights determined by the number of atoms in the condensate and the interaction strength for hard sphere collisions.