arXiv:1108.4574 · Physical Review A
Trapped ultracold bosons in periodically modulated lattices
Jia-Wei Huo, Fu‐Chun Zhang, Wei-Qiang Chen, Matthias Troyer, Ulrich Schollwöck
Abstract
Motivated by the recent rapid development of the field of quantum gases in optical lattices, we present a comprehensive study of the spectrum of ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice subjected to a periodic lattice modulation. Using the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method, we study the dynamical response due to lattice modulations in different quantum phases of the system with varying density. For the Mott-insulating state, we identify several excitation processes, which provide important information about the density profile of the gases. For the superfluid, the dynamical response can be well described in a local density approximation. This simplification can be valuable in understanding the strong-correlated superfluid in a slow-varying harmonic potential. All these spectroscopic features of an inhomogeneous system can be used as a test for the validity of the Bose-Hubbard model in a parabolic trapping potential.