A quantum master equation with balanced gain and loss

Dennis Dast, Daniel Haag, Holger Cartarius, Günter Wunner

We present a quantum master equation describing a Bose-Einstein condensate with particle loss on one lattice site and particle gain on the other lattice site whose mean-field limit is a non-Hermitian PT-symmetric Gross-Pitaevskii equation. It is shown that the characteristic properties of PT-symmetric systems, such as the existence of stationary states and the phase shift of pulses between two lattice sites, are also found in the many-particle system. Visualizing the dynamics on a Bloch sphere allows us to compare the complete dynamics of the master equation with that of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We find that even for a relatively small number of particles the dynamics are in excellent agreement and the master equation with balanced gain and loss is indeed an appropriate many-particle description of a PT-symmetric Bose-Einstein condensate.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.6189
Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)

Dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a PT-symmetric double-well potential

Rüdiger Fortanier, Dennis Dast, Daniel Haag, Holger Cartarius, Jörg Main, Günter Wunner

We investigate dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a complex external double-well potential that features a combined parity and time-reversal symmetry. On the basis of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation we study the effects of the long-ranged anisotropic dipole-dipole interaction on ground and excited states by the use of a time-dependent variational approach. We show that the property of a similar non-dipolar condensate to possess real energy eigenvalues in certain parameter ranges is preserved despite the inclusion of this nonlinear interaction. Furthermore, we present states that break the PT symmetry and investigate the stability of the distinct stationary solutions. In our dynamical simulations we reveal a complex stabilization mechanism for PT-symmetric, as well as for PT-broken states which are, in principle, unstable with respect to small perturbations.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1403.6742
Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas); Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD)

Stability of Bose-Einstein condensates in a $${\mathcal PT}$$-symmetric double-$$\delta$$ potential close to branch points

Andreas Löhle, Holger Cartarius, Daniel Haag, Dennis Dast, Jörg Main, Günter Wunner

A Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a double-well potential, where atoms are incoupled to one side and extracted from the other, can in the mean-field limit be described by the nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) with a $${\mathcal PT}$$-symmetric external potential. If the strength of the in- and outcoupling is increased two $${\mathcal PT}$$ broken states bifurcate from the $${\mathcal PT}$$-symmetric ground state. At this bifurcation point a stability change of the ground state is expected. However, it is observed that this stability change does not occur exactly at the bifurcation but at a slightly different strength of the in-/outcoupling effect. We investigate a Bose-Einstein condensate in a $${\mathcal PT}$$-symmetric double-$$\delta$$ potential and calculate the stationary states. The ground state’s stability is analysed by means of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations and it is shown that the difference in the strength of the in-/outcoupling between the bifurcation and the stability change can be completely explained by the norm-dependency of the nonlinear term in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1401.2354
Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas); Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD)

Eigenvalue structure of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a PT-symmetric double well

Dennis Dast, Daniel Haag, Holger Cartarius, Jörg Main, Günter Wunner

We study a Bose-Einstein condensate in a PT-symmetric double-well potential where particles are coherently injected in one well and removed from the other well. In mean-field approximation the condensate is described by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation thus falling into the category of nonlinear non-Hermitian quantum systems. After extending the concept of PT symmetry to such systems, we apply an analytic continuation to the Gross-Pitaevskii equation from complex to bicomplex numbers and show a thorough numerical investigation of the four-dimensional bicomplex eigenvalue spectrum. The continuation introduces additional symmetries to the system which are confirmed by the numerical calculations and furthermore allows us to analyze the bifurcation scenarios and exceptional points of the system. We present a linear matrix model and show the excellent agreement with our numerical results. The matrix model includes both exceptional points found in the double-well potential, namely an EP2 at the tangent bifurcation and an EP3 at the pitchfork bifurcation. When the two bifurcation points coincide the matrix model possesses four degenerate eigenvectors. Close to that point we observe the characteristic features of four interacting modes in both the matrix model and the numerical calculations, which provides clear evidence for the existence of an EP4.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.3871

Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

Nonlinear Schrödinger equation for a PT symmetric delta-functions double well

Holger Cartarius, Daniel Haag, Dennis Dast, Günter Wunner

The time-independent nonlinear Schrodinger equation is solved for two attractive delta-function shaped potential wells where an imaginary loss term is added in one well, and a gain term of the same size but with opposite sign in the other. We show that for vanishing nonlinearity the model captures all the features known from studies of PT symmetric optical wave guides, e.g., the coalescence of modes in an exceptional point at a critical value of the loss/gain parameter, and the breaking of PT symmetry beyond. With the nonlinearity present, the equation is a model for a Bose-Einstein condensate with loss and gain in a double well potential. We find that the nonlinear Hamiltonian picks as stationary eigenstates exactly such solutions which render the nonlinear Hamiltonian itself PT symmetric, but observe coalescence and bifurcation scenarios different from those known from linear PT symmetric Hamiltonians.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.1669
Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas); Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD)