Mean-field analysis of collapsing and exploding Bose-Einstein condensates

The dynamics of collapsing and exploding Bose-Einstein condensates caused by a sudden switch of interactions from repulsive to attractive are studied by numerically integrating the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with atomic loss for an axially symmetric trap. We investigate the decay rate of condensates and the phenomena of bursts and jets of atoms, and compare our results with those of the experiments performed by E. A. Donley et al. [Nature (London) 412, 295 (2001)]. Our study suggests that the condensate decay and the burst production is due to local intermittent implosions in the condensate, and that atomic clouds of bursts and jets are coherent. We also predict nonlinear pattern formation caused by the density instability of attractive condensates.