The quantum dynamics of two-component Bose–Einstein condensate: an Sp(4,R) symmetry approach

Abstract

Abstract The compact groups such as SU(n) and SO(n) groups have been heavily studied and applied in the study of quantum many body systems. However, the non-compact groups such as the real symplectic groups are less touched. In this paper, it is revealed that the quantum dynamics of two-component Bose–Einstein condensate can be described by a non-compact real symplectic group S p ( 4 , R ) . With this group, an explicit form of the wavefunction in any time of the evolution can be given, meanwhile, this whole time evolution can be shown to correspond to a trajectory in a six-dimensional manifold. By introducing a polar coordinate, we can visualize this six-dimensional manifold in 2d unit disk and reveal the relation between the behavior of the trajectory in this manifold and the eigenenergies of the Hamiltonian. Furthermore, the time evolution of expectation value of a physical observable such as number operator is proven closely related to the behavior of the trajectory in this manifold.