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arXiv:cond-mat/0605374 · Physical Review E

Statics and dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in double square well potentials

E. Infeld, Paweł Zin, J. Gocałek, Marek Trippenbach

Published Aug 31, 2006• 32 citations

Abstract

We treat the behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in double square well potentials of both equal and different depths. For even depth, symmetry preserving solutions to the relevant nonlinear Schrödinger equation are known, just as in the linear limit. When the nonlinearity is strong enough, symmetry breaking solutions also exist, side by side with the symmetric one. Interestingly, solutions almost entirely localized in one of the wells are known as an extreme case. Here we outline a method for obtaining all these solutions for repulsive interactions. The bifurcation point at which, for critical nonlinearity, the asymmetric solutions branch off from the symmetry preserving ones is found analytically. We also find this bifurcation point and treat the solutions generally via a Josephson junction model. When the confining potential is in the form of two wells of different depth, interesting phenomena appear. This is true of both the occurrence of the bifurcation point for the static solutions and also of the dynamics of phase and amplitude varying solutions. Again a generalization of the Josephson model proves useful. The stability of solutions is treated briefly.

DOI: 10.1103/physreve.74.026610

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We treat the behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in double square well potentials of both equal and different depths. For even depth, symmetry preserving solutions to the relevant nonlinear Schrödinger equation are known, just as in the linear limit. When the nonlinearity is strong enough, symmetry breaking solutions also exist, side by side with the symmetric one. Interestingly, solutions almost entirely localized in one of the wells are known as an extreme case. Here we outline a method for obtaining all these solutions for repulsive interactions. The bifurcation point at which, for critical nonlinearity, the asymmetric solutions branch off from the symmetry preserving ones is found analytically. We also find this bifurcation point and treat the solutions generally via a Josephson junction model. When the confining potential is in the form of two wells of different depth, interesting phenomena appear. This is true of both the occurrence of the bifurcation point for the static solutions and also of the dynamics of phase and amplitude varying solutions. Again a generalization of the Josephson model proves useful. The stability of solutions is treated briefly.

We present a representative set of analytic stationary-state solutions of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation for a symmetric double-square-well potential for both attractive and repulsive nonlinearity. In addition to the usual symmetry-preserving even and odd states, nonlinearity introduces quite exotic symmetry-breaking solutions---among them are trains of solitons with different number and sizes of density lumps in the two wells. We use the symmetry-breaking localized solutions to form macroscopic quantum superposition states and explore a simple model for the exponentially small tunneling splitting.

We investigate the phenomena of symmetry breaking and phase transition in the ground state of Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in a double square well and in an optical lattice well, respectively. By using standing-wave expansion method, we present symmetric and asymmetric ground state solutions of nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with a symmetric double square well potential for attractive nonlinearity. In particular, we study the ground state wave function's properties by changing the depth of potential and atomic interactions (here we restrict ourselves to the attractive regime). By using the Fourier grid Hamiltonian method, we also reveal a phase transition of BECs trapped in one-dimensional optical lattice potential.

We investigate the phenomena of symmetry breaking and phase transition in the ground state of BoseEinstein condensates (BECs) trapped in a double square well and in an optical lattice well, respectively. By using standing-wave expansion method, we present symmetric and asymmetric ground state solutions of nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) with a symmetric double square well potential for attractive nonlinearity. In particular, we study the ground state wave function's properties by changing the depth of potential and atomic interactions (here we restrict ourselves to the attractive regime). By using the Fourier grid Hamiltonian method, we also reveal a phase transition of BECs trapped in one-dimensional optical lattice potential.

We present analytical stationary solutions for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BECs) trapped in a double-well potential. These solutions are compared to those described by [Mahmud et al., Phys. Rev. A 66, 063607 (2002)]. In particular, we provide further evidence that symmetry preserving stationary solutions can be reduced to the eigenstates of the corresponding linear Schr\"odinger equation. Moreover, we have found that the symmetry-breaking solutions can emerge not only from bifurcations, but also from isolated points in the chemical potential--nonlinear interaction diagram. We also have found that there are some moving nodes in the symmetry-breaking solutions.

We propose a model of a nonlinear double-well potential (NDWP), alias a double-well pseudopotential, with the objective to study an alternative implementation of the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and optical media, under the action of a potential with two symmetric minima. In the limit case when the NDWP structure is induced by the local nonlinearity coefficient represented by a set of two delta functions, a fully analytical solution is obtained for symmetric, antisymmetric, and asymmetric states. In this solvable model, the SSB bifurcation has a fully subcritical character. Numerical analysis, based on both direct simulations and computation of stability eigenvalues, demonstrates that, while the symmetric states are stable up to the SSB bifurcation point, both symmetric and emerging asymmetric states, as well as all antisymmetric ones, are unstable in the model with the delta functions. In the general model with a finite width of the nonlinear-potential wells, the asymmetric states quickly become stable, simultaneously with the switch of the SSB bifurcation from the subcritical to supercritical type. Antisymmetric solutions may also get stabilized in the NDWP structure of the general type, which gives rise to a bistability between them and asymmetric states. The symmetric states require a finite norm for their existence, an explanation to which is given. A full diagram for the existence and stability of the trapped states in the model is produced. Experimental observation of the predicted effects should be possible in BEC formed by several hundred atoms.

An analytical approximation method to clarify the symmetry-breaking stationary solutions to the Gross–Pitaevskii 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.