We study the connection between the semiclassical phase space of the Bose-Hubbard dimer and inherently quantum phenomena in this model, such as entanglement and dissipation-induced coherence. Near the semiclassical self-trapping fixed points, the dynamics of Einstein-Podolski-Rosen (EPR) entanglement and condensate fraction consists of beats among just three eigenstates. Since persistent EPR entangled states arise only in the neighborhood of these fixed points, our analysis explains essentially all of the entanglement dynamics in the system. We derive accurate analytical approximations by expanding about the strong-coupling limit; surprisingly, their realm of validity is nearly the entire parameter space for which the self-trapping fixed points exist. Finally, we show significant enhancement of entanglement can be produced by applying localized dissipation.

• Received 3 September 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.88.063606