Decoherence of a quantum harmonic oscillator monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate

We investigate the dynamics of a quantum oscillator, whose evolution is monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a symmetric double-well potential. It is demonstrated that the oscillator may experience various degrees of decoherence depending on the variable being measured and the state in which the BEC is prepared. These range from a “coherent” regime in which only the variances of the oscillator position and momentum are affected by measurement, to a slow (power-law) or rapid (Gaussian) decoherence of the mean values themselves.