Landau-Zener Tunneling of Bose-Einstein Condensates in an Optical Lattice

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding non-symmetric Landau-Zener tunneling in Bose-Einstein condensates within deep optical lattices, emphasizing the role of modulational instability in inter-band transition irreversibility.

Contribution

It introduces a set of linearly coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations to model matter exchange and highlights the impact of modulational instability on tunneling irreversibility.

Findings

Periodic matter exchange between bands is described by coupled nonlinear equations.

Modulational instability causes irreversibility in inter-band transitions.

The theory explains non-symmetric tunneling phenomena in deep optical lattices.

Abstract

A theory of the non-symmetric Landau-Zener tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates in deep optical lattices is presented. It is shown that periodic exchange of matter between the bands is described by a set of linearly coupled nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equations. The key role of the modulational instability in rendering the inter-band transitions irreversible is highlighted.