NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Symmetry-Breaking and Symmetry-Restoring Dynamics of a Mixture of Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Double Well
Published
Author(s)
Indubala I. Satija, Radha Balakrishnan, P. Naudus, Jeffrey Heward, M Edwards, Charles W. Clark
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 new type of coherence associated with the symmetry restoring nonlinear swapping modes where the two species either chase each other or avoid each other, as they tunnel between the two wells of the con ning potential. Furthermore, there are two distinct types of broken symmetry, macroscopic quantum self-trapping (MQST) phases corresponding to the phase separation or coexistence of the two species. 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 -modes.
Citation
Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)
Satija, I.
, Balakrishnan, R.
, Naudus, P.
, Heward, J.
, Edwards, M.
and Clark, C.
(2009),
Symmetry-Breaking and Symmetry-Restoring Dynamics of a Mixture of Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Double Well, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics), [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=900255
(Accessed October 18, 2025)