We study theoretically an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well trap, both quantum-mechanically and classically, under conditions such that in the classical model an unstable equilibrium dissolves into large-scale oscillations of the atoms between the potential wells. Quantum mechanics alone does not exhibit such nonlinear dynamics, but measurements of the atom numbers in the potential wells may nevertheless cause the condensate to behave essentially classically.

• Received 8 January 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.81.051602