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Ofir E. Alon

Publications and source records attributed to Ofir E. Alon.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Analysis of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate in terms of position, momentum, and angular-momentum variance

We analyze, analytically and numerically, the position, momentum, and in particular the angular-momentum variance of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a two-dimensional anisotropic trap for static and dynamic scenarios. The differences between the variances at the mean-field level, which are attributed to the shape of the BEC, and the variances at the many-body level, which incorporate depletion, are used to characterize position, momentum, and angular-momentum correlations in the BEC for finite systems and at the limit of an infinite number of particles where the bosons are $100\%$ condensed. Finally, we also explore inter-connections between the variances.

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Many-body quantum dynamics of an asymmetric bosonic Josephson junction

The out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics of an interacting Bose gas trapped in a 1D asymmetric double-well potential is studied by solving the many-body Schrödinger equation numerically accurately. We examine how the loss of symmetry of the confining trap affects the macroscopic quantum tunneling dynamics of the system between the two wells. In an asymmetric DW, the two wells are not equivalent anymore -the left well is deeper than the right one. Accordingly, we analyze the dynamics by initially preparing the condensate in both the left and the right well. We examined the frequencies and amplitudes of the oscillations of the survival probabilities, the time scale for the development of fragmentation and its degree, and the growth and oscillatory behavior of the many-body position and momentum variances. There is an overall suppression of the oscillations of the survival probabilities in an asymmetric double well. However, depending on whether the condensate is initially prepared in the left or right well, the repulsive inter-atomic interactions affect the survival probabilities differently. The degree of fragmentation depends both on the asymmetry of the trap and the initial well in which the condensate is prepared in a non-trivial manner. Overall, the many-body position and momentum variances bear the prominent signatures of the density oscillations of the system in the asymmetric double well as well as a breathing-mode oscillation. Finally, a universality of fragmentation for systems made of different numbers of particles but the same interaction parameter is also found. The phenomenon is robust despite the asymmetry of the junction and admits a macroscopically-large fragmented condensate characterized by a diverging many-body position variance.

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Condensates in annuli: Dimensionality of the variance

Static and dynamic properties of Bose-Einstein condensates in annular traps are investigated by solving the many-boson Schrödinger equation numerically accurately using the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree for bosons method. We concentrate on weakly-interacting bosons exhibiting low depletion. Analysis of the mean-field position variance, which accounts for the shape of the density only, and the many-body position variance, which incorporates a tiny amount of excitations through the reduced two-particle density matrix, shows that the former behaves essentially as a quasi-one-dimensional quantity whereas the latter as a two-dimensional quantity. This brings another dimension to the physics of bosons in ring-shaped traps.

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Variance of a Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensate

The ground state of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a two-dimensional trap potential is analyzed numerically at the infinite-particle limit. It is shown that the anisotropy of the many-particle position variance along the $x$ and $y$ axes can be opposite when computed at the many-body and mean-field levels of theory. This is despite the system being $100\%$ condensed, and the respective energies per particle and densities per particle to coincide.

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Enhanced many-body effects in the excitation spectrum of a weakly-interacting rotating Bose-Einstein condensate

The excitation spectrum of a highly-condensed two-dimensional trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is investigated within the rotating frame of reference. The rotation is used to transfer high-lying excited states to the low-energy spectrum of the BEC. We employ many-body linear-response theory and show that, once the rotation leads to a quantized vortex in the ground state, already the low-energy part of the excitation spectrum shows substantial many-body effects beyond the realm of mean-field theory. We demonstrate numerically that the many-body effects grow with the vorticity of the ground state, meaning that the rotation enhances them even for very weak repulsion. Furthermore, we explore the impact of the number of bosons $N$ in the condensate on a low-lying single-particle excitation, which is describable within mean-field theory. Our analysis shows deviations between the many-body and mean-field results which clearly persist when $N$ is increased up to the experimentally relevant regime, typically ranging from several thousand up to a million bosons in size. Implications are briefly discussed.

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Attractive Bose-Einstein condensates in anharmonic traps: Accurate numerical treatment and the intriguing physics of the variance

The dynamics of attractive bosons trapped in one dimensional anharmonic potentials is investigated. Particular emphasis is put on the variance of the position and momentum many-particle operators. Coupling of the center-of-mass and relative-motion degrees-of-freedom necessitates an accurate numerical treatment. The multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree for bosons (MCTDHB) method is used, and high convergence of the energy, depletion and occupation numbers, and position and momentum variances is proven numerically. We demonstrate for the ground state and out-of-equilibrium dynamics, for condensed and fragmented condensates, for small systems and {\it en route} to the infinite-particle limit, that intriguing differences between the density and variance of an attractive Bose-Einstein condensate emerge. Implications are briefly discussed.

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Impact of the range of the interaction on the quantum dynamics of a bosonic Josephson junction

The out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics of a bosonic Josephson junction (BJJ) with long-range interaction is studied in real space by solving the time-dependent many-body Schrödinger equation numerically accurately using the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons. Having the many-boson wave-function at hand we can examine the impact of the range of the interaction on the properties of the BJJ dynamics, viz. density oscillations and their collapse, self trapping, depletion and fragmentation, as well as the position variance, both at the mean-field and many-body level. Explicitly, the frequency of the density oscillations and the time required for their collapse, the value of fragmentation at the plateau, the maximal and the minimal values of the position variance in each cycle of oscillation and the overall pace of its growth are key to our study. We find competitive effect between the interaction and the confining trap. The presence of the tail part of the interaction basically enhances the effective repulsion as the range of the interaction is increased starting from a short, finite range. But as the range becomes comparable with the trap size, the system approaches a situation where all the atoms feel a constant potential and the impact of the tail on the dynamics diminishes. There is an optimal range of the interaction in which physical quantities of the junction are attaining their extreme values.

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Variance of an anisotropic Bose-Einstein condensate

The anisotropy of a trap potential can impact the density and variance of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in an opposite manner. We exemplify this effect for both the ground state and out-of-equilibrium dynamics of structureless bosons interacting by a long-range inter-particle interaction and trapped in a two-dimensional single-well potential. We demonstrate that even when the density of the BEC is, say, wider along the $y$ direction and narrower along the $x$ direction, its position variance can actually be smaller and momentum variance larger in the $y$ direction than in the $x$ direction. This behavior of the variance in a many-particle system is counterintuitive. It suggests using the variance as a tool to characterize the strength of correlations along the $y$ and $x$ directions in a trapped BEC.

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Many-body effects in the excitation spectrum of weakly-interacting Bose-Einstein condensates in one-dimensional optical lattices

In this work, we study many-body excitations of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in periodic one-dimensional optical lattices. In particular, we investigate the impact of quantum depletion onto the structure of the low-energy spectrum and contrast the findings to the mean-field predictions of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equations. Accurate results for the many-body excited states are obtained by applying a linear-response theory atop the MCTDHB (multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons) equations of motion, termed LR-MCTDHB. We demonstrate for condensates in a triple well that even weak ground-state depletion of around $1\%$ leads to visible many-body effects in the low-energy spectrum which deviate substantially from the corresponding BdG spectrum. We further show that these effects also appear in larger systems with more lattice sites and particles, indicating the general necessity of a full many-body treatment.

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Solvable Model of a Generic Trapped Mixture of Interacting Bosons: Reduced Density Matrices and Proof of Bose-Einstein Condensation

A mixture of two kinds of identical bosons, species $1$ and species $2$, held in a harmonic potential and interacting by harmonic intra-species and inter-species particle-particle interactions is discussed. To prove Bose-Einstein condensation of the mixture three steps are needed. First, we integrate the all-particle density matrix, employing a four-parameter matrix recurrence relations, down to the lowest-order intra-species and inter-species reduced density matrices of the mixture. Second, the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii (mean-field) equations of the mixture are solved analytically. Third, we analyze the mixture's reduced density matrices in the limit of an infinite number of particles of both species $1$ and $2$ (when the interaction parameters, i.e., the products of the number of particles times the intra-species and inter-species interaction strengths, are held fixed) and prove that: (i) Both species $1$ and $2$ are 100\% condensed; (ii) The inter-species reduced density matrix per particle is separable and given by the product of the intra-species reduced density matrices per particle; and (iii) The mixture's energy per particle, and reduced density matrices and densities per particle all coincide with the Gross-Pitaevskii quantities. Finally, when the infinite-particle limit is taken with respect to, say, species $1$ only (with interaction parameters held fixed) we prove that: (iv) Only species $1$ is 100\% condensed and its reduced density matrix and density per particle, as well as the mixture's energy per particle, coincide with the Gross-Pitaevskii quantities of species $1$ alone; and (v) The inter-species reduced density matrix per particle is nonetheless separable and given by the product of the intra-species reduced density matrices per particle.

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Uncertainty product of an out-of-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate

The variance and uncertainty product of the position and momentum many-particle operators of structureless bosons interacting by a long-range inter-particle interaction and trapped in a single-well potential are investigated. In the first example, of an out-of-equilibrium interaction-quench scenario, it is found that, despite the system being fully condensed, already when a fraction of a particle is depleted differences with respect to the mean-field quantities emerge. In the second example, of the pathway from condensation to fragmentation of the ground state, we find out that, although the cloud's density broadens while the system's fragments, the position variance actually decreases, the momentum variance increases, and the uncertainty product is not a monotonous function but has a maximum. Implication are briefly discussed.

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Solvable Model of a Mixture of Bose-Einstein Condensates

A mixture of two kinds of identical bosons held in a harmonic potential and interacting by harmonic particle-particle interactions is discussed. This is an exactly-solvable model of a mixture of two trapped Bose-Einstein condensates which allows us to examine analytically various properties. Generalizing the treatment in [Cohen and Lee, J. Math. Phys. {\bf 26}, 3105 (1985)], closed form expressions for the ground-state energy, wave-function, and lowest-order densities are obtained and analyzed for attractive and repulsive intra-species and inter-species particle-particle interactions. A particular mean-field solution of the corresponding Gross-Pitaevskii theory is also found analytically. This allows us to compare properties of the mixture at the exact, many-body and mean-field levels, both for finite systems and at the limit of an infinite number of particles. We hereby prove that the exact ground-state energy and lowest-order intra-species and inter-species densities converge at the infinite-particle limit (when the products of the number of particles times the intra-species and inter-species interaction strengths are held fixed) to the results of the Gross-Pitaevskii theory for the mixture. Finally and on the other end, the separability of the mixture's center-of-mass coordinate is used to show that the Gross-Pitaevskii theory for mixtures is unable to describe the variance of many-particle operators in the mixture, even in the infinite-particle limit. Our analytical results show that many-body correlations exist in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates made of any number of particles. Implications are briefly discussed.

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Many-body tunneling dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates and vortex states in two spatial dimensions

In this work, we study the out-of-equilibrium many-body tunneling dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a two-dimensional radial double well. We investigate the impact of interparticle repulsion and compare the influence of angular momentum on the many-body tunneling dynamics. Accurate many-body dynamics are obtained by solving the full many-body Schrödinger equation. We demonstrate that macroscopic vortex states of definite total angular momentum indeed tunnel and that, even in the regime of weak repulsions, a many-body treatment is necessary to capture the correct tunneling dynamics. As a general rule, many-body effects set in at weaker interactions when the tunneling system carries angular momentum.

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The uncertainty product of an out-of-equilibrium many-particle system

In the present work we show, analytically and numerically, that the variance of many-particle operators and their uncertainty product for an out-of-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) can deviate from the outcome of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii dynamics, even in the limit of infinite number of particles and at constant interaction parameter when the system becomes 100% condensed. We demonstrate our finding on the dynamics of the center-of-mass position--momentum uncertainty product of a freely expanding as well as of a trapped BEC. This time-dependent many-body phenomenon is explained by the existence of time-dependent correlations which manifest themselves in the system's reduced two-body density matrix used to evaluate the uncertainty product. Our work demonstrates that one has to use a many-body propagation theory to describe an out-of-equilibrium BEC, even in the infinite particle limit.

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Variance as a sensitive probe of correlations enduring the infinite particle limit

Bose-Einstein condensates made of ultracold trapped bosonic atoms have become a central venue in which interacting many-body quantum systems are studied. The ground state of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate has been proven to be 100% condensed in the limit of infinite particle number and constant interaction parameter [Lieb and Seiringer, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 88}, 170409 (2002)]. The meaning of this result is that properties of the condensate, noticeably its energy and density, converge to those obtained by minimizing the Gross-Pitaevskii energy functional. This naturally raises the question whether correlations are of any importance in this limit. Here, we demonstrate both analytically and numerically that even in the infinite particle limit many-body correlations can lead to a substantial modification of the \textit{variance} of any operator compared to that expected from the Gross-Pitaevskii result. The strong deviation of the variance stems from its explicit dependence on terms of the reduced two-body density matrix which otherwise do not contribute to the energy and density in this limit. This makes the variance a sensitive probe of many-body correlations even when the energy and density of the system have already converged to the Gross-Pitaevskii result. We use the center-of-mass position operator to exemplify this persistence of correlations. Implications of this many-body effect are discussed.

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Spatially partitioned many-body vortices

A vortex in Bose-Einstein condensates is a localized object which looks much like a tiny tornado storm. It is well described by mean-field theory. In the present work we go beyond the current paradigm and introduce many-body vortices. These are made of {\it spatially-partitioned} clouds, carry definite total angular momentum, and are fragmented rather than condensed objects which can only be described beyond mean-field theory. A phase diagram based on a mean-field model assists in predicting the parameters where many-body vortices occur. Implications are briefly discussed.

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Breaking the resilience of a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate to fragmentation

A two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) split by a radial potential barrier is investigated. We determine on an accurate many-body level the system's ground-state phase diagram as well as a time-dependent phase diagram of the splitting process. Whereas the ground state is condensed for a wide range of parameters, the time-dependent splitting process leads to substantial fragmentation. We demonstrate for the first time the dynamical fragmentation of a BEC despite its ground state being condensed. The results are analyzed by a mean-field model and suggest that a large manifold of low-lying fragmented excited states can significantly impact the dynamics of trapped two-dimensional BECs.

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Many-body excitation spectra of trapped bosons with general interaction by linear response

The linear-response theory of the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree for bosons method for computing many-body excitations of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 88}, 023606 (2013)] is implemented for systems with general interparticle interaction. Illustrative numerical examples for repulsive and attractive bosons are provided. The many-body linear-response theory identifies the excitations not unraveled within Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations. The theory is herewith benchmarked against the exactly-solvable one-dimensional harmonic-interaction model. As a complementary result, we represent the theory in a compact block-diagonal form, opening up thereby an avenue for treating larger systems.

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