# Balanced gain and loss in Bose-Einstein condensates without PT symmetry

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in Bose-Einstein condensates, small asymmetries in gain and loss do not destroy stability; instead, nonlinear effects can stabilize the system further, challenging the necessity of perfect PT symmetry.

## Contribution

It reveals that nonlinear properties enable stabilization of Bose-Einstein condensates with unbalanced gain and loss, expanding the understanding beyond ideal PT-symmetric conditions.

## Key findings

- Small asymmetries can stabilize the condensate.
- Nonlinear effects lead to self-regulation of particle number.
- PT symmetry is not strictly necessary for stability.

## Abstract

Balanced gain and loss renders the mean-field description of Bose-Einstein condensates PT symmetric. However, any experimental realization has to deal with unbalancing in the gain and loss contributions breaking the PT symmetry. We will show that such an asymmetry does not necessarily lead to a system without a stable mean-field ground state. Indeed, by exploiting the nonlinear properties of the condensate, a small asymmetry can stabilize the system even further due to a self-regulation of the particle number.