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a r X i v : c o n d - m a t / 0 3 1 2 3 9 6 v 2 [ c o n d - m a t .o t h e r ] 3 1 M a r 2 0 0 4 Josephson tunnelling of a phase-imprinted Bose-Einstein condensate in a time-dependent double-well potential E. Sakellari§, N. P. Proukakis, M. Leadbeater, and C. S. Adams Department of Physics, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom Abstract. This paper discusses the feasibility of experimental control of the flow direction of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential using phase-imprinting. The flow is induced by the application of a time-dependent potential gradient, providing a clear signature of macroscopic quantum tunnelling in atomic condensates. By studying both initial state preparation and subsequent tunnelling dynamics we find the parameters to optimise the phase induced Josephson current. We find that the effect is largest for condensates of up to a few thousand atoms, and is only weakly- dependent on trap geometry. § To whom correspondence should be addressed (Eleni.Sakellari@durham.ac.uk) Phase-imprinted BEC tunnelling in time-dependent double-well potential 2 1. Introduction The creation of superconducting [1] and superfluid [2] weak links has led to the experimental observation of Josephson effects [3], arising as a result of macroscopic quantum phase coherence. Josephson weak links are typically created by connecting two initially independent superconducting or superfluid systems via a barrier with dimensions of the order of the system healing length. Such junctions lead to a variety of interesting phenomena [4], including dc- and ac-Josephson effects. Observations in superconductors preceded those in superfluids, due to the much larger healing lengths, thus enabling easier fabrication of weak links. Evidence for Josephson-like effects has been observed in 4He weak links [5], and unequivocally demonstrated for weakly- coupled 3He systems [6]. The recent achievement of dilute trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensatio