On the quantum instability of attractive Bose systems

DOI10.4310/ATMP.2010.V14.N1.A2MaRDI QIDQ604840zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors George E. Cragg, Arthur K. Kerman

Publication date 12 November 2010

Published in Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0712.2495, https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.atmp/1283281758

(2)-body potential quantum scattering theory (81U05) (n)-body potential quantum scattering theory (81U10) Many-body theory; quantum Hall effect (81V70) Quantum equilibrium statistical mechanics (general) (82B10)

Abstract: We explore the zero-temperature behavior of an assembly of bosons interacting through a zero-range, attractive potential. Because the two-body interaction admits a bound state, the many-body model is best described by a Hamiltonian that includes the coupling between atomic and molecular components. Due to the positive scattering length, the low-density collection is expected to remain stable against collapse despite the attraction between particles. Although a variational many-body analysis indicates a collapsing solution with only a molecular component to its condensate at low density, the expected atomic condensate solution can be obtained if the chemical potential is allowed to be complex valued. In addition to revealing two discrete eigenfrequencies associated with the molecular case, an expansion in small oscillations quantifies the imaginary part of the chemical potential as proportional to a coherent decay rate of the atomic condensate into a continuum of collective phonon excitations about the collapsing lower state.

Review text

We have considered the case of an atom-molecule condensate in which the interactions were attractive yet the effective scattering length was positive. This situation raised the question of whether the condensate collapsed due to the mutual attractions or remained stable in accordance with the positive scattering length. Starting with a two-body analysis, a separable potential was used to realistically model the interparticle interaction. Due to its success, this separable form was implemented in the many-body Hamiltonian. Equations of state were then obtained from the application of a variational principle that utilized a Gaussian trial wave functional for the many-body state. Despite the positive scattering length, a collapsing solution was obtained, consisting of a relatively low-density piece having only a molecular component to its condensate. At higher density, there occurred a quantum phase transition after which the solution comprised both atomic and molecular condensate components. Only by allowing the chemical potential to assume complex values could the experimentally observed case be obtained. As the phase of the order parameter, the chemical potential has an imaginary part quantifying a decay, rate, assigned a physical meaning through a small oscillation analysis about the equilibrium solutions. Expanding around the stationary points revealed two discrete eigenfrequencies associated with the low-density molecular condensate solution. Moreover, the experimentally observed energy per particle lay within an excitation continuum of the collapsing two-piece lower state. From energy conservation, the decay was interpreted as a coherent process corresponding to the evolution of the observed case into the excitations of the lower solution.

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