Nonlinear effects in interference of Bose-Einstein condensates

Nonlinear effects in the interference of Bose-Einstein condensates are stud ied using exact solutions of the one-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equa tion, which is applicable when the lateral motion is confined or negligible . With the inverse scattering method, the interference pattern is studied a s a scattering problem with the linear Schrodinger equation, whose potentia l is profiled by the initial density distribution of the condensates. Our t heory not only provides an analytical framework for quantitative prediction s for the one-dimensional case, it also gives an intuitive understanding of some mysterious features of the interference patterns observed in experime nts and numerical simulations.