Aligned dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential: From cigar shaped to pancake shaped

Abstract

We consider a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), which is characterized by long-range and anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions and vanishing s-wave scattering length, in a double-well potential. The properties of this system are investigated as functions of the height of the barrier that splits the harmonic trap into two halves, the number of particles (or dipole-dipole strength) and the aspect ratio $\lambda$, which is defined as the ratio between the axial and longitudinal trapping frequencies $\omega_z$ and $\omega_{\rho}$. The phase diagram is determined by analyzing the stationary mean-field solutions. Three distinct regions are found: a region where the energetically lowest lying stationary solution is symmetric, a region where the energetically lowest lying stationary solution is located asymmetrically in one of the wells, and a region where the system is mechanically unstable. For sufficiently large aspect ratio $\lambda$ and sufficiently high barrier height, the system consists of two connected quasi-two-dimensional sheets with density profiles whose maxima are located either at $\rho=0$ or away from $\rho=0$. The stability of the stationary solutions is investigated by analyzing the Bogoliubov de Gennes excitation spectrum and the dynamical response to small perturbations. These studies reveal unique oscillation frequencies and distinct collapse mechanisms. The results derived within the mean-field framework are complemented by an analysis based on a two-mode model.