Symmetry-breaking and Symmetry-restoring Dynamics of a Mixture of Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Double Well

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2009

Publication Title

Physical Review A

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevA.79.033616

ISSN

2469-9926

Abstract

We study the coherent nonlinear tunneling dynamics of a binary mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential. We demonstrate the existence of a type of mode associated with the “swapping” of the two species in the two wells of the potential. In contrast to the symmetry-breaking macroscopic quantum self-trapping (MQST) solutions, the swapping modes correspond to the tunneling dynamics that preserves the symmetry of the double-well potential. As a consequence of two distinct types of broken-symmetry MQST phases where the two species localize in different potential wells or coexist in the same well, the corresponding symmetry-restoring swapping modes result in dynamics where the two species either avoid or chase each other. In view of the possibility to control the interaction between the species, the binary mixture offers a very robust system to observe these novel effects as well as the phenomena of Josephson oscillations and π modes.

Comments

Authors have the right to use all or part of the Article, including the APS-prepared version without revision or modification, on the author(s)’ web home page or employer’s website. (source:http://journals.aps.org/authors/transfer-of-copyright-agreement) Article obtained from Physical Review A.

Share

COinS