Acta Polytechnica (Jan 2011)

Exceptional Points for Nonlinear Schroedinger Equations Describing Bose-Einstein Condensates of Ultracold Atomic Gases

  • G. Wunner,
  • H. Cartarius,
  • P. Koeberle,
  • J. Main,
  • S. Rau

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 4

Abstract

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The coalescence of two eigenfunctions with the same energy eigenvalue is not possible in Hermitian Hamiltonians. It is, however, a phenomenon well known from non-hermitian quantum mechanics. It can appear, e.g., for resonances in open systems, with complex energy eigenvalues. If two eigenvalues of a quantum mechanical system which depends on two or more parameters pass through such a branch point singularity at a critical set of parameters, the point in the parameter space is called an exceptional point. We will demonstrate that exceptional points occur not only for non-hermitean Hamiltonians but also in the nonlinear Schroedinger equations which describe Bose-Einstein condensates, i.e., the Gross-Pitaevskii equation for condensates with a short-range contact interaction, and with additional long-range interactions. Typically, in these condensates the exceptional points are also found to be bifurcation points in parameter space. For condensates with a gravity-like interaction between the atoms, these findings can be confirmed in an analytical way.