Josephson Effects in Dilute Bose-Einstein Condensates

S. Giovanazzi; A. Smerzi; S. Fantoni

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.4521

← Back to search

Josephson Effects in Dilute Bose-Einstein Condensates

S. Giovanazzi, A. Smerzi, S. Fantoni

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.4521 · Physical Review Letters

T1

Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval

Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.

Abstract

We propose an experiment that would demonstrate the dc and ac Josephson effects in two weakly linked Bose-Einstein condensates. We consider a time-dependent barrier, moving adiabatically across the trapping potential. The phase dynamics are governed by a “driven-pendulum” equation, as in current-driven superconducting Josephson junctions. At a critical velocity of the barrier (proportional to the critical tunneling current), there is a sharp transition between the dc and ac regimes. The signature is a sudden jump of a large fraction of the relative condensate population. Analytical results are compared with a numerical integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, in an experimentally realistic situation.