Dynamics and transport of Bose–Einstein condensates in bent potentials

Abstract

The dynamics of bosons in curved geometries have recently attracted significant interest in quantum many-body physics. Leveraging recent experimental advances in tailored trapping landscapes, we investigate the quantum transport of weakly interacting bosons in two-dimensional bent trapping potentials, showing that geometry alone can serve as a precise control knob for tunneling dynamics. Using time-adaptive many-body simulations, complemented by mean-field analysis and exact diagonalization, we analyze both static and dynamical properties of bosons confined in the bent potential. We reveal how bending an initially straight channel induces a transition from density localization to delocalization and drives the buildup of correlations in the ground state. In the dynamics, the bend acts as a tunable barrier that enables controllable tunneling: weak curvature allows coherent tunneling across the bend, while a stronger bend suppresses transport and enhances self-trapping. The tunneling rate can be precisely tuned by geometric parameters, establishing bent traps as versatile platforms for geometry-controlled quantum transport.