Analytical results for Josephson dynamics of ultracold bosons

Abstract

We study the dynamics of ultracold Bosons in a double-well potential within the two-mode Bose-Hubbard model by means of semiclassical methods. By applying a WKB quantization we find analytical results for the energy spectrum, which are in excellent agreement with numerical exact results. They are valid in the energy range of plasma oscillations, both in the Rabi and the Josephson regime. Adopting the reflection principle and the Poisson summation formula we derive an analytical expression for the dynamics of the population imbalance depending on the few relevant parameters of the system only. This allows us to discuss its characteristic dynamics, especially the oscillation frequency, and the collapse- and revival time, as a function of the model parameters, leading to a deeper understanding of Josephson physics. We find that our fomulae match previous experimental observations.