Geometric Phase in a Bose-Einstein Josephson Junction

We calculate the geometric phase associated with the time evolution of the wave function of a Bose-Einstein condensate system in a double-well trap by using a model for tunneling between the wells. For a cyclic evolution, this phase is shown to be half the solid angle subtended by the evolution of a unit vector whose z component and azimuthal angle are given by the population difference and phase difference between the two condensates. For a non-cyclic evolution an additional phase term arises. We show that the geometric phase can also be obtained by mapping the tunneling equations onto the equations os a space curve. The importance of a geometric phase in the context of some recent experiments is pointed out.