Generating periodic interference in Bose–Einstein condensates

The interference between two condensates with repulsive interaction is investigated numerically by solving the one-dimensional time-dependent Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The periodic interference pattern forms in two condensates, which are prepared in a double-well potential consisting of two truncated harmonic wells centered at different positions. Dark solitons are observed when two condensates overlap. Due to the existence of atom–atom interactions, atoms are transferred among the ground state and the excited states, which coincides with the condensate energy change.