Phase separation and dynamics of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

We study the interactions between two atomic species in a binary Bose-Einstein condensate to revisit the conditions for miscibility, oscillatory dynamics between the species, steady-state solutions, and their stability. By employing a variational approach for a quasi-one-dimensional, two-atomic species condensate, we obtain equations of motion for the parameters of each species: amplitude, width, position, and phase. A further simplification leads to a reduction of the dynamics into a simple classical Newtonian system where components oscillate in an effective potential with a frequency that depends on the harmonic trap strength and the interspecies coupling parameter. We develop explicit conditions for miscibility that can be interpreted as a phase diagram that depends on the harmonic trap's strength and the interspecies coupling parameter. We numerically illustrate the bifurcation scenario whereby nontopological, phase-separated states of increasing complexity emerge out of a symmetric state as the interspecies coupling is increased. The symmetry-breaking dynamical evolution of some of these states is numerically monitored and the associated asymmetric states are also explored.