Control of the dynamics of coupled atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensates: Modified Gross-Pitaevskii approach

Abstract

We study the dynamics of the atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ in a spherically symmetric trap coupled by stimulated Raman photoassociation process. Considering the higher order nonlinearity in the atom-atom interaction we analyze the dynamics of the system using coupled modified Gross-Pitaevskii (MGP) equations and compare it with mean-field coupled Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) dynamics. Considerable differences in the dynamics are obtained in these two approaches at large scattering length, i.e., for large values of peak-gas parameter ${x}_{pk}\ensuremath{\ge}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. We show how the dynamics of the coupled system is affected when the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions are considered together with the atom-atom interaction and also when the strengths of these three interactions are increased. The effect of detuning on the efficiency of conversion of atomic fractions into molecules is demonstrated and the feasibility of maximum molecular BEC formation by varying the Raman detuning parameter at different values of time is explored. Thus by varying the Raman detuning and the scattering length for atom-atom interaction one can control the dynamics of the coupled atomic-molecular BEC system. We have also solved coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations for atomic to molecular condensate formation through magnetic Feshbach resonance in a BEC of $^{85}\text{R}\text{b}$. We found similar features for oscillations between atomic and molecular condensates noted in previous theoretical study and obtained fairly good agreement with the evolution of total atomic condensate observed experimentally.