Asymmetric Tunneling of Bose-Einstein Condensates

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Bose-Einstein condensates in 1D can exhibit asymmetric tunneling probabilities, breaking the traditional symmetry predicted for single particles, with potential applications in quantum device design.

Contribution

It reveals the breaking of left-right tunneling symmetry in BECs modeled by the GPE, highlighting a threshold behavior as inter-particle interaction varies.

Findings

Symmetric tunneling at zero interaction ($g=0$).

Asymmetric tunneling emerges beyond a critical interaction strength.

Results are feasible for experimental verification.

Abstract

In his celebrated textbook, $\textit{Quantum Mechanics: Nonrelativistic Theory}$, Landau argued that, for single particle systems in 1D, tunneling probability remains the same for a particle incident from the left or the right of a barrier. This left-right symmetry of tunneling probability holds regardless of the shape of the potential barrier. However, there are a variety of known cases that break this symmetry, e.g. when observing composite particles. We computationally (and analytically, in the simplest case) show this breaking of the left-right tunneling symmetry for Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in 1D, modelled by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE). By varying $g$, the parameter of inter-particle interaction in the BEC, we demonstrate that the transition from symmetric ($g=0$) to asymmetric tunneling is a threshold phenomenon. Our computations employ experimentally feasible parameters such that these results may be experimentally demonstrated in the near future. We conclude by suggesting applications of the phenomena to design atomtronic diodes, synthetic gauge fields, Maxwell's demons, and black-hole analogues.