Probing the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates via boundary dissipation

A model of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice provided with dissipative boundary conditions is studied. We show how measurements on the emitted atoms can be exploited for determining the presence, nature and interaction of localized states inside the lattice. A travelling breather can, for example, determine presence and position of self-trapped stationary states through periodic bounces at the lossy boundaries. By measuring densities and phases of the emitted atoms, multi-breather states and breather interactions are characterized.