Macroscopic two-state systems in trapped atomic condensates

Journal Article · Wed Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.82.061601· OSTI ID:21528798

Solenov, Dmitry; Mozyrsky, Dmitry ^[1]

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1. Theoretical Division (T-4) and the Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

We consider a macroscopic two-state system based on persistent current states of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of interacting neutral atoms confined in a ring with a weak Josephson link. We demonstrate that macroscopic superpositions of different BEC flows are energetically favorable in this system. Moreover, a macroscopic two-state dynamics emerges in the low-energy limit. We also investigate fundamental limitations due to the noise inherent in the interacting BEC of Josephson-ring geometry. We show that the coherent macroscopic dynamics is readily measurable for an experimentally accessible range of parameters.

• OSTI ID: 21528798
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 82, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.82.061601; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ATOMS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
CURRENTS
GEOMETRY
NOISE
RINGS
TRAPPING
MATHEMATICS