Parametric Resonance Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Breaking of Macroscopic Quantum Self-Trapping

Abstract

We analyze the periodic tunneling of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential which has an oscillating energy barrier. We show that the dynamics of the Bose condensate critically depends on the frequency $ω$ of the oscillating energy barrier. In the regime of periodic macroscopic quantum tunneling (PMQT) with frequency $ω_J$, the population imbalance of the condensate in the two wells can be enhanced under the condition of parametric resonance $ω= 2 ω_J$. Instead, in the regime of macroscopic quantum self-trapping (MQST), we find that MQST can be reduced or suppressed under the condition of parametric resonance between the frequency $ω$ of the energy barrier and the frequency $ω_{ST}$ of oscillation through the barrier of the very small fraction of particles which remain untrapped during MQST.