Assessing small accelerations using a bosonic Josephson junction

Abstract

Bosonic Josephson junctions provide a versatile platform for exploring quantum tunneling and coherence phenomena in ultracold atomic systems. While extensive research has examined the Josephson-junction dynamics in various double-well configurations, most studies have been limited to inertial reference frames. In the present work, we posed the question how placing a Josephson junction in a non-inertial reference frame would impact the quantum tunnelling. Our findings demonstrate that accelerating a Josephson junction alters the tunneling dynamics. Conversely, tunneling behavior can be used to assess the acceleration of the system. By analyzing the changes in physical properties, we can assess the acceleration of the double-well. We begin with the most simple non-inertial frame: moving with constant acceleration. The tunneling time decreases exponentially as acceleration increases, making it effective for measuring larger accelerations. However, for smaller accelerations, accurate assessment requires accounting for many-body depletion, which decreases linearly as acceleration rises. Next, we explore a more complex scenario where the acceleration is time dependent. In this case, the acceleration is mapped onto the tunneling time period and depletion, which again serve as predictors of acceleration. We go further by conducting a detailed analysis of the change in tunnelling dynamics when the system deviates from constant or zero acceleration. The quantitative analysis show that the depletion changes exponentially near constant acceleration, while around zero acceleration, the change follows a polynomial pattern. All in all, we quantify how the tunneling process, as well as the mean-field and many-body properties, evolve in a non-inertial system of increasing complexity.