Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 060403 (2006) [4 pages]Formation of Spatial Shell Structure in the Superfluid to Mott Insulator TransitionReceived 22 June 2006; published 10 August 2006 We report on the direct observation of the transition from a compressible superfluid to an incompressible Mott insulator by recording the in-trap density distribution of a Bosonic quantum gas in an optical lattice. Using spatially selective microwave transitions and spin-changing collisions, we are able to locally modify the spin state of the trapped quantum gas and record the spatial distribution of lattice sites with different filling factors. As the system evolves from a superfluid to a Mott insulator, we observe the formation of a distinct shell structure, in good agreement with theory. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.060403
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.060403
PACS:
03.75.Hh, 03.75.Lm, 03.75.Mn
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