Hannover 2013 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 56: Poster III

Q 56.41: Poster

Thursday, March 21, 2013, 16:00–18:30, Empore Lichthof

Macroscopic quantum tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates — •Torsten Schwidder, Matin Kaufmann, Holger Cartarius, Jörg Main, and Günter Wunner — 1. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Uni Stuttgart

Macroscopic quantum tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates is investigated using a Gaussian variational ansatz. The quantum statistical decay of the condensate wave function is examined by means of a semiclassical approximation to Feynman's path integral formalism, considering only the Euclidean action of the bounce trajectory and fluctuations around it. The imaginary time dynamics is described by a set of coupled differential equations for the Gaussian parameters, and the bounce trajectory is determined using a multi-shooting algorithm. Furthermore, the contributions of the fluctuations are obtained from the eigenvalues of the monodromy matrix. We discuss various methods for calculating the fluctuation determinant.