Josephson tunnelling of a phase-imprinted Bose-Einstein condensate in a time-dependent double-well potential

Abstract

This paper discusses the feasibility of experimental control of the flow direction of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential using phase-imprinting. The flow is induced by the application of a time-dependent potential gradient, providing a clear signature of macroscopic quantum tunneling in atomic condensates. By studying both initial state preparation and subsequent tunneling dynamics we find the parameters to optimise the phase induced Josephson current. We find that the effect is largest for condensates up to a few thousand atoms, and is only weakly-dependent on trap geometry.

Improved discussion of v1. A new figure added. Accepted for publication in New J. Physics