Localization and delocalization of ultracold bosonic atoms in finite optical lattices

2007/10/31 by Dirk-Sören Lühmann, Kai Bongs, Klaus Sengstock +2 · 3 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #cond-mat.other

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.77.023620

published as Phys. Rev. A 77, 023620 (2008) · 8 pages, 10 figures. Published version

openalex publication_date 2008/02/19 · arxiv created 2008/04/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We study bosonic atoms in small optical lattices by exact diagonalization and observe a striking similarity to the superfluid to Mott insulator transition in macroscopic systems. The momentum distribution, the formation of an energy gap, and the pair correlation function show only a weak size dependence. For noncommensurate filling we reveal in deep lattices a mixture of localized and delocalized particles, which is sensitive to lattice imperfections. Breaking the lattice symmetry causes a Bose-glass-like behavior. We discuss the nature of excited states and orbital effects by using an exact diagonalization technique that includes higher bands.

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