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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 81 » Issue 15
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3108–3111 (1998)

Cold Bosonic Atoms in Optical Lattices

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D. Jaksch1,2, C. Bruder1,3, J. I. Cirac1,2, C. W. Gardiner1,4, and P. Zoller1,2
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106-4030
2Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
3Institut für Theoretische Festkörperphysik, Universität Karlsruhe, D-76128 Karlsruhe, Germany
4School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand

Received 26 May 1998; published in the issue dated 12 October 1998

The dynamics of an ultracold dilute gas of bosonic atoms in an optical lattice can be described by a Bose-Hubbard model where the system parameters are controlled by laser light. We study the continuous (zero temperature) quantum phase transition from the superfluid to the Mott insulator phase induced by varying the depth of the optical potential, where the Mott insulator phase corresponds to a commensurate filling of the lattice (“optical crystal”). Examples for formation of Mott structures in optical lattices with a superimposed harmonic trap and in optical superlattices are presented.

© 1998 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3108
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3108
PACS:
32.80.Pj, 03.75.Fi, 71.35.Lk
 
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