Hannover 2016 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 63: Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC V (with A)

Q 63.5: Talk

Friday, March 4, 2016, 12:00–12:15, f107

Physical realization of third-order exceptional points — •Jan Schnabel, Holger Cartarius, and Günter Wunner — 1. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Stuttgart

Exceptional points are characterized by the coalescence of two or even more eigenstates in non-Hermitian quantum systems. While second-order exceptional points (EP2) have already been realized in experiments, an experimental observation of a third-order exceptional point (EP3) is still lacking. Encouraging systems for such an observation could be a setup of three coupled waveguides as proposed in [1] or PT-symmetric Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in a triple-well trap. We investigate a realistic optical setup by numerically exact calculations, which shows the appearance of an EP3. Due to a formal analogy between the Schrödinger and the Helmholtz equation the same potential can also be realized in quantum mechanics. We introduce a realistic quantum system made up of a BEC in a three-dimensional potential, which should exhibit the characteristic behaviour of an EP3.

[1] E-M. Graefe, J. Phys. A: 45, 2 (2012)