Chaotic dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensate in a density-dependent gauge field

Abstract

In this work we study the effect of density-dependent gauge field on the collective dynamics of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, beyond the linear response regime. The densitydependent gauge field, as a backaction of the condensate, can in turn affect the condensate dynamics, resulting in highly nonlinear equations of motion. We find that the dipole and breathing oscillations of the condensate along the direction of gauge field are coupled by this field. For a quasi-onedimensional condensate, this coupling makes the collective motion quasiperiodic. While for a quasitwo-dimensional condensate, the gauge field can also induce a Hall effect, manifested as an additional coupling between dipole and breathing oscillations in perpendicular direction. When the densitydependent gauge field is strong, the interplay between these oscillations can cause the collective dynamics of the condensate to become chaotic. Our findings reveal an important effect of dynamical gauge field on the nonlinear dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate.