Hofstadter's butterfly energy spectrum of ultracold fermions on the two-dimensional triangular optical lattice

We study the energy spectrum of ultracold fermionic atoms on the two-dimensional triangular optical lattice subjected to a perpendicular effective magnetic field, which can be realized with laser beams. We derive the generalized Harper's equations and numerically solve them, then we obtain the Hofstadter's butterfly-like energy spectrum, which has a novel fractal structure. The observability of the Hofstadter's butterfly spectrum is also discussed.