Probing condensate order in deep optical lattices
Abstract
We study interacting bosons in optical lattices in the weak-tunneling regime in systems that exhibit the coexistence of Mott-insulating and condensed phases. We discuss the nature of the condensed ground state in this regime and the validity of the mean-field treatment thereof. We suggest two experimental signatures of condensate order in the system. (1) We analyze the hyperfine configuration of the system and propose a set of experimental parameters for observing radio-frequency spectra that would demonstrate the existence of the condensed phase between Mott-insulating phases. We derive the structure of the signal from the condensate in a typical trapped system, taking into account Goldstone excitations, and discuss its evolution as a function of temperature. (2) We study matter-wave interference patterns displayed by the system upon release from all confining potentials. We show that as the density profiles evolve very differently for the Mott-insulating phase and the condensed phase, they can be distinguished from one another when the two phases coexist.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0811.2798,
title = {Probing condensate order in deep optical lattices},
author = {Kuei Sun and Courtney Lannert and Smitha Vishveshwara},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0811.2798},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
15 pages, 9 figures, RevTeX; content changed, references changed