arXiv:0804.3609 · Physical Review A
Josephson physics mediated by the Mott insulating phase
Smitha Vishveshwara, Courtney Lannert
Abstract
We investigate the static and dynamic properties of bosonic lattice systems in which condensed and Mott insulating phases coexist due to the presence of a spatially varying potential. We formulate a description of these inhomogeneous systems and calculate the bulk energy at and near equilibrium. We derive the explicit form of the Josephson coupling between disjoint superfluid regions separated by Mott insulating regions. We obtain detailed estimates for the case of alternating superfluid and Mott insulating spherical shells in a radially symmetric parabolically confined cold atom system.