Josephson tunnelling of a phase-imprinted Bose–Einstein condensate in a time-dependent double-well potential

Abstract

This paper discusses the feasibility of experimental control of the flow direction of atomic Bose–Einstein condensates in a double-well potential using phase imprinting. The flow is induced by the application of a time-dependent potential gradient, providing a clear signature of macroscopic quantum tunnelling in atomic condensates. By studying both initial-state preparation and subsequent tunnelling dynamics, we find the parameters to optimize the phase-induced Josephson current. We find that the effect is largest for condensates of up to a few thousand atoms, and is only weakly dependent on trap geometry.