Metal-insulator transition revisited for cold atoms in non-Abelian gauge potentials

We discuss the possibility of realizing metal-insulator transitions with ultracold atoms in two-dimensional optical lattices in the presence of artificial gauge potentials. For Abelian gauges, such transitions occur when the magnetic flux penetrating the lattice plaquette is an irrational multiple of the magnetic flux quantum. Here we present the first study of these transitions for non-Abelian U(2) gauge fields. In contrast to the Abelian case, the spectrum and localization transition in the non-Abelian case is strongly influenced by atomic momenta. In addition to determining the localization boundary, the momentum fragments the spectrum. Other key characteristics of the non-Abelian case include the absence of localization for certain states and satellite fringes around the Bragg peaks in the momentum distribution and an interesting possibility that the transition can be tuned by the atomic momenta.     

Cold atoms in non-Abelian gauge potentials: from the Hofstadter "moth" to lattice gauge theory

We demonstrate how to create artificial external non-Abelian gauge potentials acting on cold atoms in optical lattices. The method employs atoms with k internal states, and laser assisted state sensitive tunneling, described by unitary k x k matrices. The single-particle dynamics in the case of intense U2 vector potentials lead to a generalized Hofstadter butterfly spectrum which shows a complex mothlike structure. We discuss the possibility to realize non-Abelian interferometry (Aharonov-Bohm effect) and to study many-body dynamics of ultracold matter in external lattice gauge fields.     

Topological superfluid in a fermionic bilayer optical lattice

In this paper, a topological superfluid phase with Chern number ?? = ±1, possessing gapless edge states and non-Abelian anyonsis designed in a ?? = ±1 topological insulator proximity to ans-wave superfluid on an optical lattice with the effective gauge fieldand layer-dependent Zeeman field coupled to ultracold fermionic atoms’ pseudo spin. Wealso study its topological properties and calculate the phase stiffness by using therandom-phase-approximation approach. Finally we derive the temperature of theKosterlitz-Thouless transition by means of renormalized group theory. Owning to theexistence of non-Abelian anyons, this ?? = ±1 topological superfluid may be a possible candidate fortopological quantum computation.     

Cold atom dynamics in non-Abelian gauge fields

The dynamics of ultracold neutral atoms subject to a non-Abelian gauge field is investigated. In particular we analyze in detail a simple experimental scheme to achieve a constant, but non-Abelian gauge field, and discuss in the frame of this gauge field the non-Abelian Aharanov–Bohm effect. In the last part of this paper, we discuss intrinsic non-Abelian effects in the dynamics of cold atomic wavepackets. PACS 03.75.Hh     

Observing Zitterbewegung with ultracold atoms

We propose an optical lattice scheme which would permit the experimental observation of Zitterbewegung (ZB) with ultracold, neutral atoms. A four-level tripod variant of the setup for stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) has previously been proposed for generating non-Abelian gauge fields. Dirac-like Hamiltonians, which exhibit ZB, are simple examples of such non-Abelian gauge fields; we show how a variety of them can arise, and how ZB can be observed, in a tripod system. We predict that the ZB should occur at experimentally accessible frequencies and amplitudes.     

Quantum tunneling of ultracold atoms in optical traps

We review our theoretical advances in quantum tunneling of BoseEinstein condensates in optical traps and in microcavities. By employing a real physical system, the frequencies of the pseudo Goldstone modes in different phases between two optical traps are studied respectivdy, which are tile crucial feature of the non-Abelian Joseptmon effect. When the optical lattices are under gravity, we investigate the quantum tummling in the ＂Wannier-Stark localization＂ regime and ＂Lan（lau Zener tunneling＂ regime. We finally get the total decay rate and the rate is valid over the entire range of temperatures. At high temperatures, we show how the decay rate reduces to the appropriate results for the classical thermal activation. At hltermediate temperatures, the results of tile total decay rate are consistent with the thermally assisted tunneling. At low temperatures, we obtain the pure quantmn tunneling ultimately. And we study the alternating-current and direct-current （ac and de） photonic 3osephson effects in two weakly linked microcavities containing ultracold two-level atones, which allows for direct observation of the effects. This enables new investigations of the effect of maw-body physics in strongly coupled atom-cavity systems and provides a strategy for constructing novel interference devices of coherent photons. In addition, we propose the experimental protocols to observe these quantmn tunneling of Bose- Einstein condensates.     

Local quantum criticality in confined fermions on optical lattices

Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the one-dimensional fermionic Hubbard model in a harmonic potential displays quantum critical behavior at the boundaries of a Mott-insulating region. A local compressibility defined to characterize the Mott-insulating phase has a nontrivial critical exponent. Both the local compressibility and the variance of the local density show universality with respect to the confining potential. We determine a generic phase diagram, which allows the prediction of the phases to be observed in experiments with ultracold fermionic atoms trapped on optical lattices.     

Tight-binding models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices: general formulation and applications

Tight-binding models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices can be properly defined by using the concept of maximally localized Wannier functions for composite bands. The basic principles of this approach are reviewed here, along with different applications to lattice potentials with two minima per unit cell, in one and two spatial dimensions. Two independent methods for computing the tight-binding coefficients—one ab initio, based on the maximally localized Wannier functions, the other through analytic expressions in terms of the energy spectrum—are considered. In the one dimensional case, where the tight-binding coefficients can be obtained by designing a specific gauge transformation, we consider both the case of quasi resonance between the two lowest bands, and that between s and p orbitals. In the latter case, the role of the Wannier functions in the derivation of an effective Dirac equation is also reviewed. Then, we consider the case of a two dimensional honeycomb potential, with particular emphasis on the Haldane model, its phase diagram, and the breakdown of the Peierls substitution. Tunable honeycomb lattices, characterized by movable Dirac points, are also considered. Finally, general considerations for dealing with the interaction terms are presented.     

Mixtures of fermionic atoms with mass imbalance in optical lattices

We study ground-state properties of ultracold fermionic mixtures with strong mass imbalance in one and two-dimensional optical lattices through large scale numerical simulations of the attractive Falicov-Kimball model in harmonic confining potentials. In the one-dimensional case, we observe a formation of insulating atomic-density-wave domains at low particle fillings and a coexistence of insulating and metallic domains at intermediate and large particle fillings. Moreover, we show how the formation of metallic regions is reflected in the momentum distribution of the light atoms. In two dimensions, we find a rich spectrum of density-wave patterns including the homogeneous distributions, the axial striped distributions, the labyrinthine phases as well as the segregated phases.      

Quench dynamics of ultracold atoms in one-dimensional optical lattices with artificial gauge fields

We study the quench dynamics of noninteracting ultracold atoms loaded in one-dimensional(1D) optical lattices with artificial gauge fields, which are modeled by lattices with complex hopping coefficients. After suddenly changing the hopping coefficient, time evolutions of the density distribution, momentum distribution, and mass current at the center are studied for both finite uniform systems and trapped systems. Effects of filling factor, system size, statistics, harmonic trap, and phase difference in hopping are identified, and some interesting phenomena show up. For example, for a finite uniform fermionic system shock and rarefaction wave plateaus are formed at two ends, whose wave fronts move linearly with speed equaling to the maximal absolute group velocity. While for a finite uniform bosonic system the whole density distribution moves linearly at the group velocity. Only in a finite uniform fermionic system there can be a constant quasisteady-state current, whose amplitude is decided by the phase difference and filling factor. The quench dynamics can be tested in ultracold atoms with minimal modifications of available experimental techniques, and it is a very interesting and fundamental example of the transport phenomena and the nonequilibrium dynamics.     

Analytical approach to quantum phase transitions of ultracold Bose gases in bipartite optical lattices using the generalized Green’s function method

In order to investigate the quantum phase transitions and the time-of-flight absorption pictures analytically in a systematic way for ultracold Bose gases in bipartite optical lattices, we present a generalized Green’s function method. Utilizing this method, we study the quantum phase transitions of ultracold Bose gases in two types of bipartite optical lattices, i.e., a hexagonal lattice with normal Bose–Hubbard interaction and a d-dimensional hypercubic optical lattice with extended Bose–Hubbard interaction. Furthermore, the time-of-flight absorption pictures of ultracold Bose gases in these two types of lattices are also calculated analytically. In hexagonal lattice, the time-of-flight interference patterns of ultracold Bose gases obtained by our analytical method are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental results of Soltan-Panahi, et al. [Nat. Phys. 7, 434 (2011)]. In square optical lattice, the emergence of peaks at \(\left( { \pm \frac{\pi }{a}, \pm \frac{\pi }{a}} \right)\) in the time-of-flight absorption pictures, which is believed to be a sort of evidence of the existence of a supersolid phase, is clearly seen when the system enters the compressible phase from charge-density-wave phase.     

Geometric phases and criticality in spin-chain systems

A relation between geometric phases and criticality of spin chains is established. As a result, we show how geometric phases can be exploited as a tool to detect regions of criticality without having to undergo a quantum phase transition. We analytically evaluate the geometric phase that corresponds to the ground and excited states of the anisotropic XY model in the presence of a transverse magnetic field when the direction of the anisotropy is adiabatically rotated. It is demonstrated that the resulting phase is resilient against the main sources of errors. A physical realization with ultracold atoms in optical lattices is presented.     

Competing types of order in two-dimensional bose-fermi mixtures

Using a functional renormalization group approach we study the zero temperature phase diagram of two-dimensional Bose-Fermi mixtures of ultracold atoms in optical lattices, in the limit when the velocity of bosonic condensate fluctuations is much larger than the Fermi velocity. For spin-1/2 fermions we obtain a phase diagram, which shows a competition of pairing phases of various orbital symmetry (s, p, and d) and antiferromagnetic order. We determine the value of the gaps of various phases close to half filling, and identify subdominant orders as well as short-range fluctuations from the renormalization group flow. For spinless fermions we find that p-wave pairing dominates the phase diagram.     

一维准周期晶格的性质及应用

准周期晶格在冷原子领域被广泛研究,它使得人们可以在一维或者二维系统里研究扩展到安德森局域的转变. 2008年, Inguscio研究组在冷原子系统里制备了一维准周期晶格,并观测到了安德森局域化现象,这极大地推动了准周期系统的理论和实验研究.后来, Bloch研究组在制备的一维和二维准周期晶格中都观测到了多体局域的现象.最近,他们还在准周期晶格中成功观测到迁移率边以及存在迁移率边的系统的多体局域现象.这些冷原子实验推动了多体局域以及迁移率边等方向的研究.准周期晶格已经成为一个平台,它对很多物理现象的影响正在被广泛研究,并可以尝试在冷原子实验中观测到这种影响.本文结合作者的一些相关工作,对一维准周期晶格一些近期的研究进行了简要综述,介绍了一些相关的重要的冷原子实验,讨论了准周期晶格的一些重要性质,以及它对一些物理现象(比如拓扑态)的影响.     

Relativistic quantum effects of Dirac particles simulated by ultracold atoms

Quantum simulation is a powerful tool to study a variety of problems in physics, ranging from high-energy physics to condensed-matter physics. In this article, we review the recent theoretical and experimental progress in quantum simulation of Dirac equation with tunable parameters by using ultracold neutral atoms trapped in optical lattices or subject to light-induced synthetic gauge fields. The effective theories for the quasiparticles become relativistic under certain conditions in these systems, making them ideal platforms for studying the exotic relativistic effects. We focus on the realization of one, two, and three dimensional Dirac equations as well as the detection of some relativistic effects, including particularly the well-known Zitterbewegung effect and Klein tunneling. The realization of quantum anomalous Hall effects is also briefly discussed.     

Non-Abelian gauge potentials for ultracold atoms with degenerate dark states

We show that the adiabatic motion of ultracold, multilevel atoms in spatially varying laser fields can give rise to effective non-Abelian gauge fields if degenerate adiabatic eigenstates of the atom-laser interaction exist. A pair of such degenerate dark states emerges, e.g., if laser fields couple three internal states of an atom to a fourth common one under pairwise two-photon-resonance conditions. For this so-called tripod scheme we derive general conditions for truly non-Abelian gauge potentials and discuss special examples. In particular we show that using orthogonal laser beams with orbital angular momentum an effective magnetic field can be generated that has a monopole component.     

Energy Spectrum of Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates in Optical Lattices

With the method of Green's function, we investigate the energy spectra of two-component ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices. We find that there are two energy bands for each component. The critical condition of the superfluid-Mott insulator phase transition is determined by the energy band structure. We also find that the nearest neighboring and on-site interactions fail to change the structure of energy bands, but shift the energy bands only. According to the conditions of the phase transitions, three stable superfluid and Mott insulating phases can be found by adjusting the experiment parameters. We also discuss the possibility of observing these new phases and their transitions in further experiments.     

Thermodynamics of the Hubbard model on stacked honeycomb and square lattices

We present a numerical study of the Hubbard model on simply stacked honeycomb and square lattices, motivated by a recent experimental realization of such models with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. We perform simulations with different interlayer coupling and interaction strengths and obtain Néel transition temperatures and entropies. We provide data for the equation of state to enable comparisons of experiments and theory. We find an enhancement of the short-range correlations in the anisotropic lattices compared to the isotropic cubic lattice, in parameter regimes suitable for the interaction driven adiabatic cooling.     

Mott domains of bosons confined on optical lattices

In the absence of a confining potential, the boson-Hubbard model exhibits a superfluid to Mott insulator quantum phase transition at commensurate fillings and strong coupling. We use quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study the ground state of the one-dimensional bosonic Hubbard model in a trap. Some, but not all, aspects of the Mott insulating phase persist. Mott behavior occurs for a continuous range of incommensurate fillings, very different from the unconfined case, and the establishment of the Mott phase does not proceed via a traditional quantum phase transition. These results have important implications for interpreting experiments on ultracold atoms on optical lattices.