Tachyonic and parametric instabilities in an extended bosonic Josephson junction
Laura Batini, Sebastian Erne, Jörg Schmiedmayer, Jürgen Berges
SciPost Phys. 20, 026 (2026) · published 2 February 2026
- doi: 10.21468/SciPostPhys.20.2.026
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Abstract
We study the decay of phase coherence in an extended bosonic Josephson junction realized via two tunnel-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. Specifically, we focus on the $\pi$-trapped state of large population and phase imbalance, which, similar to the breakdown of macroscopic quantum self-trapping, becomes dynamically unstable due to the amplification of quantum fluctuations. We analytically identify early tachyonic and parametric instabilities connected to the excitation of atom pairs from the condensate to higher momentum modes along the extended direction. Furthermore, we perform Truncated Wigner numerical simulations to observe the build-up of non-linearities at later times and explore realistic experimental parameters.
Authors / Affiliations: mappings to Contributors and Organizations
See all Organizations.- 1 Laura Batini,
- 2 Sebastian Erne,
- 2 Jörg Schmiedmayer,
- 1 Jürgen Berges
- 1 Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg / Heidelberg University
- 2 Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology [VCQ]
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (through Organization: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung / FWF Austrian Science Fund [FWF])
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft / German Research FoundationDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG]
- European Research Council [ERC]
