Quantum action of the Josephson dynamics
arXiv:2509.00902 · doi:10.1007/s10773-025-06186-0
Abstract
We study the beyond-mean-field Josephson dynamics of the relative phase between two coupled macroscopic quantum systems. Using a covariant background field method, we derive the one-loop only-phase quantum effective action and the corresponding equation of motion for the quantum average of the phase. These analytical results are benchmarked against the exact quantum dynamics of the two-site Bose-Hubbard model, demonstrating a relevant improvement over the standard mean-field predictions across a wide range of interaction strengths.
18 pages, 4 figures