  Multiconfigurational Hartree-Fock theory is presented and implemented in an
investigation of the fragmentation of a Bose-Einstein condensate made of
identical bosonic atoms in a double well potential at zero temperature. The
approach builds in the effects of the condensate mean field and of atomic
correlations by describing generalized many-body states that are composed of
multiple configurations which incorporate atomic interactions. Nonlinear and
linear optimization is utilized in conjunction with the variational and
Hylleraas-Undheim theorems to find the optimal ground and excited states of the
interacting system. The resulting energy spectrum and associated eigenstates
are presented as a function of double well barrier height. Delocalized and
localized single configurational states are found in the extreme limits of the
simple and fragmented condensate ground states, while multiconfigurational
states and macroscopic quantum superposition states are revealed throughout the
full extent of barrier heights. Comparison is made to existing theories that
either neglect mean field or correlation effects and it is found that
contributions from both interactions are essential in order to obtain a robust
microscopic understanding of the condensate's atomic structure throughout the
fragmentation process.
