A double-well BEC with tuneable interactions: realisation, dynamics, and a parity-breaking quantum phase transition

Simon Coop
Quantum Information with cold atoms and non-classical light group, ICFO

In this talk I’ll discuss theory and recent experimental results from a 39K BEC experiment at LENS in Florence, where we observe a parity-symmetry-breaking quantum phase transition. With complete control over all the experimental parameters, we fully characterise the transition and additionally observe a hysteresis effect that stabilises the system against external perturbations.