Dynamical instability induced by the zero mode under symmetry breaking external perturbation

Abstract

A complex eigenvalue in the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations for a stationary Bose–Einstein condensate in the ultracold atomic system indicates the dynamical instability of the system. We also have the modes with zero eigenvalues for the condensate, called the zero modes, which originate from the spontaneous breakdown of symmetries. Although the zero modes are suppressed in many theoretical analyses, we take account of them in this paper and argue that a zero mode can change into one with a pure imaginary eigenvalue by applying a symmetry breaking external perturbation potential. This emergence of a pure imaginary mode adds a new type of scenario of dynamical instability to that characterized by the complex eigenvalue of the usual excitation modes. For illustration, we deal with two one-dimensional homogeneous Bose–Einstein condensate systems with a single dark soliton under a respective perturbation potential, breaking the invariance under translation, to derive pure imaginary modes.