Coherence of an Interacting Bose Gas: from a Single to a Double Well

Abstract

The low energy properties of a trapped bose gas split by a potential barrier are determined over the whole range of barrier heights. We derive a self-consistent two-mode model which reduces, for large $N$, to a Bogoliubov model for low barriers and to a Josephson model for any (asymmetric) double well potential, with explicitly calculated tunneling and pair interaction parameters. We compare the numerical results to analytical results that precisely specify the role of number squeezing and finite temperatures in the loss of coherence.