Mott-insulator transition for ultracold fermions in two-dimensional optical lattices

2008/04/18 by Nathan Goldman, N. Goldman
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum many-body systems #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat.mes-hall

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.77.053406

published as Phys. Rev. A 77, 053406 (2008) · 7 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Physical Review A

arxiv created 2008/04/18 · openalex publication_date 2008/05/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

In this work we study ultracold fermions confined in a two-dimensional optical lattice and we explore the Mott-insulator transition with the Fermi-Hubbard model. On the basis of a mean-field approach, we study the phase diagrams in the presence of a harmonic trapping potential. Local Mott-insulator phases are shown to be generally situated in the center of the trap and correspond to a vanishing variance of the local density. We then study the effects induced by rotation on the Mott-insulator phase transition. In particular, we show that the phase boundary reproduces the edge of the Hofstadter butterfly.

Citations

• Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices: mimicking condensed matter physics and beyond
• Phase boundary of the boson Mott insulator in a rotating optical lattice
• Signature of Mott-Insulator Transition with Ultracold Fermions in a One-Dimensional Optical Lattice
• Local Quantum Criticality in Confined Fermions on Optical Lattices
• Vortex configurations of bosons in an optical lattice
• Vortex lattices of bosons in deep rotating optical lattices