Fermionic atoms in a three dimensional optical lattice: observing Fermi surfaces, dynamics, and interactions

We have studied interacting and noninteracting quantum degenerate Fermi gases in a three-dimensional optical lattice. We directly image the Fermi surface of the atoms in the lattice by turning off the optical lattice adiabatically. Because of the confining potential, gradual filling of the lattice transforms the system from a normal state into a band insulator. The dynamics of the transition from a band insulator to a normal state is studied, and the time scale is measured to be an order of magnitude larger than the tunneling time in the lattice. Using a Feshbach resonance, we increase the interaction between atoms in two different spin states and dynamically induce a coupling between the lowest energy bands. We observe a shift of this coupling with respect to the Feshbach resonance in free space which is anticipated for strongly confined atoms.     

Vortex-antivortex lattice in ultracold fermionic gases

We discuss ultracold Fermi gases in two dimensions, which could be realized in a strongly confining one-dimensional optical lattice. We obtain the temperature versus effective interaction phase diagram for an s-wave superfluid and show that, below a certain critical temperature Tc, spontaneous vortex-antivortex pairs appear for all coupling strengths. In addition, we show that the evolution from weak-to-strong coupling is smooth, and that the system forms a square vortex-antivortex lattice at a lower critical temperature TM.     

Bosonic superfluid-insulator transition in continuous space

We investigate the zero-temperature phase diagram of interacting Bose gases in the presence of a simple cubic optical lattice, going beyond the regime where the mapping to the single-band Bose-Hubbard model is reliable. Our computational approach is a new hybrid quantum Monte?Carlo method which combines algorithms used to simulate homogeneous quantum fluids in continuous space with those used for discrete lattice models of strongly correlated systems. We determine the critical interaction strength and optical lattice intensity where the superfluid-to-insulator transition takes place, considering also the regime of shallow optical lattices and strong interatomic interactions. The implications of our findings for the supersolid state of matter are discussed.     

Quantum phases of Bose gases on a lattice with pair-tunneling

We investigate the strongly interacting lattice Bose gases on a lattice with two-body interaction of nearest neighbors characterized by pair tunneling.The excitation spectrum and the depletion of the condensate of lattice Bose gases are investigated using the Bogoliubov transformation method and the results show that there is a pair condensate as well as a single particle condensate.The various possible quantum phases,such as the Mott-insulator phase(MI),the superfluid phase(SF) of an individual atom,the charge density wave phase(CDW),the supersolid phase(SS),the pair-superfluid(PSF) phase,and the pair-supersolid phase(PSS) are discussed in different parametric regions within our extended Bose-Hubbard model using perturbation theory.     

Iterated Mayer expansion for classical gases at low temperatures

We derive iterated Mayer expansions for classical gases and establish recursive bounds which control their convergence. These bounds are useful for gases with two body forces which are strong and possibly attractive at distances that are short compared to their range. Our procedure is based on splitting the potential into pieces of decreasing strength and increasing range. This may be called a renormalization group treatment of a classical gas. We apply our results to Yukawa lattice gas models and obtain convergence of series expansions for the pressure for a range of parameters (temperature, fugacities, range of the interaction) that was inaccessible before. Application to 3-dimensionalU(1) lattice gauge theory (Coulomb gas,Z-ferromagnet) will be made elsewhere.Work supported in part by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft     

Lattice gas with “interaction potential”

We present an extension of a simple automaton model to incorporate nonlocal interactions extending over a spatial range in lattice gases. From the viewpoint of statistical mechanics, the lattice gas with interaction range may serve as a prototype for non-ideal-gas behavior. From the density fluctuations correlation function, we obtain a quantity which is identified as a potential of mean force. Equilibrium and transport properties are computed theoretically and by numerical simulations to establish the validity of the model at macroscropic scale.     

Critical temperature and thermodynamics of attractive fermions at unitarity

The unitarity regime of the BCS-BEC crossover can be realized by diluting a system of two-component lattice fermions with an on-site attractive interaction. We perform a systematic-error-free finite-temperature simulation of this system by diagrammatic determinant Monte Carlo method. The critical temperature in units of Fermi energy is found to be T(C)/epsilonF=0.152(7). We also report the behavior of the thermodynamic functions, and discuss the issues of thermometry of ultracold Fermi gases.     

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.     

Atomic Bose and Anderson glasses in optical lattices

An ultracold atomic Bose gas in an optical lattice is shown to provide an ideal system for the controlled analysis of disordered Bose lattice gases. This goal may be easily achieved under the current experimental conditions by introducing a pseudorandom potential created by a second additional lattice or, alternatively, by placing a speckle pattern on the main lattice. We show that, for a noncommensurable filling factor, in the strong-interaction limit, a controlled growing of the disorder drives a dynamical transition from superfluid to Bose-glass phase. Similarly, in the weak interaction limit, a dynamical transition from superfluid to Anderson-glass phase may be observed. In both regimes, we show that even very low-intensity disorder-inducing lasers cause large modifications of the superfluid fraction of the system.     

Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices: mimicking condensed matter physics and beyond

We review recent developments in the physics of ultracold atomic and molecular gases in optical lattices. Such systems are nearly perfect realisations of various kinds of Hubbard models, and as such may very well serve to mimic condensed matter phenomena. We show how these systems may be employed as quantum simulators to answer some challenging open questions of condensed matter, and even high energy physics. After a short presentation of the models and the methods of treatment of such systems, we discuss in detail, which challenges of condensed matter physics can be addressed with (i) disordered ultracold lattice gases, (ii) frustrated ultracold gases, (iii) spinor lattice gases, (iv) lattice gases in “artificial” magnetic fields, and, last but not least, (v) quantum information processing in lattice gases. For completeness, also some recent progress related to the above topics with trapped cold gases will be discussed.

Motto:     

Bound states and Cooper pairs of molecules in 2D optical lattices bilayer

We investigate the formation of Cooper pairs, bound dimers and the dimer‐dimer elastic scattering of ultracold dipolar Fermi molecules confined in a 2D optical lattice bilayer configuration. While the energy and their associated bound states are determined in a variational way, the correlated two‐molecule pair is addressed as in the original Cooper formulation. We demonstrate that the 2D lattice confinement favors the formation of zero center mass momentum bound states. Regarding the Cooper pairs binding energy, this depends on the molecule populations in each layer. Maximum binding energies occur for non‐zero (zero) pair momentum when the Fermi system is polarized (unpolarized). We find an analytic expression for the dimer‐dimer effective interaction in the deep BEC regime. The present analysis represents a route for addressing the BCS‐BEC crossover in dipolar Fermi gases confined in 2D optical lattices within the current experimental panorama.     

Spin relaxation and band excitation of a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in 2D optical lattices

We observe interband transitions mediated by dipole-dipole interactions for an array of 1D quantum gases of chromium atoms, trapped in a 2D optical lattice. Interband transitions occur when dipolar relaxation releases an energy larger than the lattice band gap. For symmetric lattice sites, and a magnetic field parallel to the lattice axis, we compare the measured dipolar relaxation rate with a Fermi golden rule calculation. Below a magnetic field threshold, we obtain an almost complete suppression of dipolar relaxation, leading to metastable 1D gases in the highest Zeeman state.     

Mott-insulator phase of coupled one-dimensional atomic gases in a two-dimensional optical lattice

We consider the 2D Mott-insulator state of a 2D array of coupled finite size 1D Bose gases. It is shown that the momentum distribution in the lattice plane is very sensitive to the interaction regime in the 1D tubes. In particular, we find that the disappearance of the interference pattern in time-of-flight experiments is a clear consequence of the strongly interacting Tonks-Girardeau regime along the tubes.     

Experimental realization of two-dimensional single-layer ultracold gases of 87Rb in an accordion lattice

We experimentally realize two-dimensional (2D) single-layer ultracold gases of ⁸⁷Rb by dynamically tuning the periodicity of a standing wave, known as accordion lattice. In order to load ⁸⁷Rb Bose—Einstein condensate into single dark fringe node of the blue detuning optical lattice, we reduce the lattice periodicity from 26.7 μ to 3.5 μ with the help of an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) to compress the three-dimensional BEC adiabatically into a flat and uniform quasi-2D single-layer. We describe the experimental procedure of the atoms loading into the accordion lattice in detail and present the characteristics of the quasi-2D ultracold gases. This setup provides an important platform for studying in- and out-of equilibrium physics, phase transition and 2D topological matter.     

Unconventional interaction between vortices in a polarized Fermi gas

Recently, a homogeneous superfluid state with a single gapless Fermi surface was predicted to be the ground state of an ultracold Fermi gas with spin population imbalance in the regime of molecular Bose-Einstein condensation. We study vortices in this novel state using a symmetry-based effective field theory, which captures the low-energy physics of gapless fermions and superfluid phase fluctuations. This theory is applicable to all spin-imbalanced ultracold Fermi gases in the superfluid regime, regardless of whether the original fermion-pairing interaction is weak or strong. We find a remarkable, unconventional form of the interaction between vortices. The presence of gapless fermions gives rise to a spatially oscillating potential, akin to the RKKY indirect-exchange interaction in non-magnetic metals. We compare the parameters of the effective theory to the experimentally measurable quantities and further discuss the conditions for the verification of the predicted new feature. Our study opens up an interesting question as to the nature of the vortex lattice resulting from the competition between the usual repulsive logarithmic (2D Coulomb) and predominantly attractive fermion-induced interactions.     

Three-dimensional quasi-Tonks gas in a harmonic trap

We analyze the macroscopic dynamics of a Bose gas in a harmonic trap with a superimposed two-dimensional optical lattice, assuming a weak coupling between different lattice sites. We consider the situation in which the local chemical potential at each lattice site can be considered as that provided by the Lieb-Liniger solution. Because of the weak coupling between sites and the form of the chemical potential, the three-dimensional ground-state density profile and the excitation spectrum acquire remarkable properties different from both 1D and 3D gases. We call this system a quasi-Tonks gas. We discuss the range of applicability of this regime, as well as realistic experimental situations where it can be observed.     

Nonequilibrium relaxation and critical aging for driven Ising lattice gases

We employ Monte?Carlo simulations to study the nonequilibrium relaxation of driven Ising lattice gases in two dimensions. Whereas the temporal scaling of the density autocorrelation function in the nonequilibrium steady state does not allow a precise measurement of the critical exponents, these can be accurately determined from the aging scaling of the two-time autocorrelations and the order parameter evolution following a quench to the critical point. We obtain excellent agreement with renormalization group predictions based on the standard Langevin representation of driven Ising lattice gases.     

Unusual Destruction and Enhancement of Superfluidity of Atomic Fermi Gases by Population Imbalance in a One-Dimensional Optical Lattice

We study the superfluid behavior of a population imbalanced ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction in a one-dimensional(1 D) optical lattice,using a pairing fluctuation theory.We show that,besides widespread pseudogap phenomena and intermediate temperature superfluidity,the superfluid phase is readily destroyed except in a limited region of the parameter space.We find a new mechanism for pair hopping,assisted by the excessive majority fermions,in the presence of continuum-lattice mixing,which leads to an unusual constant Bose-Einstein condensate(BEC) asymptote for T_c that is independent of pairing strength.In result,on the BEC side of unitarity,superfluidity,when it exists,may be strongly enhanced by population imbalance.     

Bulk diffusivity of lattice gases close to criticality

We consider lattice gases where particles jump at random times constrained by hard-core exclusion (simple exclusion process with speed change). The conventional theory of critical slowing down predicts that close to a critical point the bulk diffusivity vanishes as the inverse compressibility. We confirm this claim by proving a strictly positive lower bound for the conductivity.     

Extended molecules and geometric scattering resonances in optical lattices

We develop a theory describing neutral atom scattering at low energies in an optical lattice. We show that, for a repulsive interaction, as the microscopic scattering length increases the effective scattering amplitude approaches a limiting value which depends only on the lattice parameters. In the case of attractive interaction a geometric resonance occurs before reaching this limit. Close to the resonance, the effective interaction becomes repulsive and supports a weakly bound state, which can extend over several lattice sites.