Tunneling in the self-trapped regime of a two-well BEC

Abstract

Starting from a mean-field model of the Bose-Einstein condensate dimer, we reintroduce classically forbidden tunneling through a Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization approach. We find closed-form approximations to the tunneling frequency more accurate than those previously obtained using different techniques. We discuss the central role that tunneling in the self-trapped regime plays in a quantitatively accurate model of a dissipative dimer leaking atoms to the environment. Finally, we describe the prospects of experimental observation of tunneling in the self-trapped regime, both with and without dissipation.