Phase engineering of controlled entangled number states in a single component Bose-Einstein condensate in a double well

Abstract

We propose a model for the creation of entangled number states (Schrödinger cat states) of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a double well through simple phase engineering. We show that a $π$-phase imprinted condensate in a double-well evolves, with a simultaneous change of barrier height, to number states with well defined and controlled entanglement. The cat state generation is understood in terms of the underlying classical phase space dynamics of a $π$-phase displaced coherent state put at the hyperbolic fixed point of the separatrix of a physical pendulum. The extremity and sharpness of the final cat state is determined by the initial barrier height and the rate at which it is ramped during the evolution.