Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1505.06372 · Physical Review B

Optical lattice modulation spectroscopy for spin-orbit coupled bosons

S. Sarkar, Rajdeep Sensarma, K. Sengupta

Published Nov 30, 2015• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Interacting bosons with two ``spin'' states in a lattice show superfluid-insulator phase transitions in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Depending on the parameter regime, bosons in the superfluid phase can condense to either a zero-momentum state or to one or multiple states with finite momentum, leading to an unconventional superfluid phase. We study the response of such a system to modulation of the optical lattice potential. We show that the change in momentum distribution after lattice modulation shows distinct patterns in the Mott and the superfluid phase and these patterns can be used to detect these phases and the quantum phase transition between them. Further, the momentum-resolved optical modulation spectroscopy can identify both the gapless (Goldstone) and gapped amplitude (Higgs) mode of the superfluid phase and clearly distinguish between the superfluid phases with a zero-momentum condensate and a twisted superfluid phase by looking at the location of these modes in the Brillouin zone. We discuss experiments which can test our theory.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.92.174529

Related papers

Superfluid-insulator transition of two-species bosons with spin-orbit coupling

Saptarshi Mandal, Kush Saha, K. Sengupta

Motivated by recent experiments [Y. J. Lin et al., Nature (London) 471, 83 (2011)], we study Mott phases and superfluid-insulator (SI) transitions of two-species ultracold bosonic atoms in a two-dimensional square optical lattice with nearest-neighbor hopping amplitude $t$ and in the presence of a spin-orbit coupling characterized by a tunable strength $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Using both strong-coupling expansion and Gutzwiller mean-field theory, we chart out the phase diagrams of the bosons in the presence of such spin-orbit interaction. We compute the momentum distribution of the bosons in the Mott phase near the SI transition point and show that it displays precursor peaks whose position in the Brillouin zone can be varied by tuning $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Our analysis of the critical theory of the transition unravels the presence of unconventional quantum critical points at $t/\ensuremath{\gamma}=0$, which are accompanied by emergence of an additional gapless mode in the critical region. We also study the superfluid phases of the bosons near the SI transition using a Gutzwiller mean-field theory that reveals the existence of a twisted superfluid phase with an anisotropic twist angle which depends on $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Finally, we compute the collective modes of the bosons and point out the presence of reentrant SI transitions as a function of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ for nonzero $t$. We propose experiments to test our theory.

arXiv:1205.3178•Physical Review B•Oct 1, 2012•33 citations

Momentum-resolved optical lattice modulation spectroscopy for bosons in optical lattices

Rajdeep Sensarma, K. Sengupta, S. Das Sarma

We propose an experimental method of optical lattice modulation spectroscopy for studying the spectral function of ultracold bosons in an optical lattice. We show that different features of the single-particle spectral function in different quantum phases can be obtained by measuring the change in momentum distribution after the modulation. In the Mott phase, this gives information about the momentum-dependent gap to particle-hole excitations as well as their spectral weight. In the superfluid phase, one can obtain the spectrum of the gapless Bogoliubov quasiparticles as well as the gapped amplitude fluctuations. The distinct evolution of the response with modulation frequency in the two phases can be used to identify these phases and the quantum phase transition separating them.

arXiv:1102.0780•Physical Review B•Aug 15, 2011•11 citations

Spin-Orbit Driven Transitions Between Mott Insulators and Finite Momentum Superfluids of Bosons in Optical Lattices

Mi Yan, Yinyin Qian, Hoi-Yin Hui +3 more

Synthetic spin-orbit coupling in ultracold atomic gases can be taken to extremes rarely found in solids. We study a two dimensional Hubbard model of bosons in an optical lattice in the presence of spin-orbit coupling strong enough to drive direct transitions from Mott insulators to superfluids. Here we find phase-modulated superfluids with finite momentum that are generated entirely by spin-orbit coupling. We investigate the rich phase patterns of the superfluids, which may be directly probed using time-of-flight imaging of the spin-dependent momentum distribution.

arXiv:1312.4011•Dec 14, 2013•2 citations

Spin-orbit-driven transitions between Mott insulators and finite-momentum superfluids of bosons in optical lattices

Mi Yan, Yinyin Qian, Hoi-Yin Hui +3 more

Synthetic spin-orbit coupling in ultracold atomic gases can be taken to extremes rarely found in solids. We study a two-dimensional Hubbard model of bosons in an optical lattice in the presence of spin-orbit coupling strong enough to drive direct transitions from Mott insulators to superfluids. Here we find phase-modulated superfluids with finite momentum that are generated entirely by spin-orbit coupling. We investigate the rich phase patterns of the superfluids, which may be directly probed using time-of-flight imaging of the spin-dependent momentum distribution.

Physical Review A•Nov 13, 2017•12 citations

Interaction-driven exotic quantum phases in spin-orbit-coupled spin-1 bosons

J. H. Pixley, Stefan S. Natu, Ian B. Spielman +1 more

We study the interplay between large-spin, spin-orbit coupling, and superfluidity for bosons in a two-dimensional optical lattice, focusing on the spin-1 spin-orbit-coupled system recently realized at the Joint Quantum Institute [Campbell et al., arXiv:1501.05984]. We find a rich quantum phase diagram where, in addition to the conventional phases---superfluid and insulator---contained in the spin-1 Bose-Hubbard model, there are new lattice symmetry breaking phases. For weak interactions, the interplay between two length scales, the lattice momentum and the spin-orbit wave vector, induce a phase transition from a uniform superfluid to a phase where bosons simultaneously condense at the center and edge of the Brillouin zone at a nonzero spin-orbit strength. This state is characterized by spin-density-wave order, which arises from the spin-1 nature of the system. Interactions suppress spin-density-wave order, and favor a superfluid only at the Brillouin zone edge. This state has spatially oscillating mean-field order parameters, but a homogeneous density. We show that the spin-density-wave superfluid phase survives in a two-dimensional harmonic trap, and thus establish that our results are directly applicable to experiments on $^{87}\mathrm{Rb},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{7}\mathrm{Li}$, and $^{41}\mathrm{K}$.

arXiv:1509.00005•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Feb 1, 2016•14 citations

Superfluid-Mott-Insulator Phase Transition and Collective Fluctuations in both Phases of Bosons in an Optical Lattice

Zhu Rui

The Bose Hubbard model describing interacting bosons in an optical lattice is reduced to a simple spin-1 XY model with single-ion anisotropy in the vicinity of the Mott phase. In the strong coupling Mott insulating regime, we propose a mean field theory based on a constraint SU (3) pseudo-boson representation on the effective model and discuss the excitation spectra and the phase transition to the superfluid state. Further to the superfluid phase, we use the coherent-state approach to derive the collective excitation modes. It is found that the Mott phase has two degenerate gapped quadratic excitation spectra which graduate into two degenerate gapless linear ones at the transition point, and one gapless linear mode with one gapped quadratic mode in the superfluid phase.

Chinese Physics Letters•Feb 19, 2007•4 citations
Interacting bosons with two ``spin'' states in a lattice show superfluid-insulator phase transitions in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Depending on the parameter regime, bosons in the superfluid phase can condense to either a zero-momentum state or to one or multiple states with finite momentum, leading to an unconventional superfluid phase. We study the response of such a system to modulation of the optical lattice potential. We show that the change in momentum distribution after lattice modulation shows distinct patterns in the Mott and the superfluid phase and these patterns can be used to detect these phases and the quantum phase transition between them. Further, the momentum-resolved optical modulation spectroscopy can identify both the gapless (Goldstone) and gapped amplitude (Higgs) mode of the superfluid phase and clearly distinguish between the superfluid phases with a zero-momentum condensate and a twisted superfluid phase by looking at the location of these modes in the Brillouin zone. We discuss experiments which can test our theory.
Motivated by recent experiments [Y. J. Lin et al., Nature (London) 471, 83 (2011)], we study Mott phases and superfluid-insulator (SI) transitions of two-species ultracold bosonic atoms in a two-dimensional square optical lattice with nearest-neighbor hopping amplitude ttt and in the presence of a spin-orbit coupling characterized by a tunable strength $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Using both strong-coupling expansion and Gutzwiller mean-field theory, we chart out the phase diagrams of the bosons in the presence of such spin-orbit interaction. We compute the momentum distribution of the bosons in the Mott phase near the SI transition point and show that it displays precursor peaks whose position in the Brillouin zone can be varied by tuning $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Our analysis of the critical theory of the transition unravels the presence of unconventional quantum critical points at $t/\ensuremath{\gamma}=0$, which are accompanied by emergence of an additional gapless mode in the critical region. We also study the superfluid phases of the bosons near the SI transition using a Gutzwiller mean-field theory that reveals the existence of a twisted superfluid phase with an anisotropic twist angle which depends on $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Finally, we compute the collective modes of the bosons and point out the presence of reentrant SI transitions as a function of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ for nonzero ttt. We propose experiments to test our theory.
We propose an experimental method of optical lattice modulation spectroscopy for studying the spectral function of ultracold bosons in an optical lattice. We show that different features of the single-particle spectral function in different quantum phases can be obtained by measuring the change in momentum distribution after the modulation. In the Mott phase, this gives information about the momentum-dependent gap to particle-hole excitations as well as their spectral weight. In the superfluid phase, one can obtain the spectrum of the gapless Bogoliubov quasiparticles as well as the gapped amplitude fluctuations. The distinct evolution of the response with modulation frequency in the two phases can be used to identify these phases and the quantum phase transition separating them.
Synthetic spin-orbit coupling in ultracold atomic gases can be taken to extremes rarely found in solids. We study a two dimensional Hubbard model of bosons in an optical lattice in the presence of spin-orbit coupling strong enough to drive direct transitions from Mott insulators to superfluids. Here we find phase-modulated superfluids with finite momentum that are generated entirely by spin-orbit coupling. We investigate the rich phase patterns of the superfluids, which may be directly probed using time-of-flight imaging of the spin-dependent momentum distribution.
Synthetic spin-orbit coupling in ultracold atomic gases can be taken to extremes rarely found in solids. We study a two-dimensional Hubbard model of bosons in an optical lattice in the presence of spin-orbit coupling strong enough to drive direct transitions from Mott insulators to superfluids. Here we find phase-modulated superfluids with finite momentum that are generated entirely by spin-orbit coupling. We investigate the rich phase patterns of the superfluids, which may be directly probed using time-of-flight imaging of the spin-dependent momentum distribution.
We study the interplay between large-spin, spin-orbit coupling, and superfluidity for bosons in a two-dimensional optical lattice, focusing on the spin-1 spin-orbit-coupled system recently realized at the Joint Quantum Institute [Campbell et al., arXiv:1501.05984]. We find a rich quantum phase diagram where, in addition to the conventional phases---superfluid and insulator---contained in the spin-1 Bose-Hubbard model, there are new lattice symmetry breaking phases. For weak interactions, the interplay between two length scales, the lattice momentum and the spin-orbit wave vector, induce a phase transition from a uniform superfluid to a phase where bosons simultaneously condense at the center and edge of the Brillouin zone at a nonzero spin-orbit strength. This state is characterized by spin-density-wave order, which arises from the spin-1 nature of the system. Interactions suppress spin-density-wave order, and favor a superfluid only at the Brillouin zone edge. This state has spatially oscillating mean-field order parameters, but a homogeneous density. We show that the spin-density-wave superfluid phase survives in a two-dimensional harmonic trap, and thus establish that our results are directly applicable to experiments on 87Rb,7Li^{87}\mathrm{Rb},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{7}\mathrm{Li}87Rb,7Li, and 41K^{41}\mathrm{K}41K.
The Bose Hubbard model describing interacting bosons in an optical lattice is reduced to a simple spin-1 XY model with single-ion anisotropy in the vicinity of the Mott phase. In the strong coupling Mott insulating regime, we propose a mean field theory based on a constraint SU (3) pseudo-boson representation on the effective model and discuss the excitation spectra and the phase transition to the superfluid state. Further to the superfluid phase, we use the coherent-state approach to derive the collective excitation modes. It is found that the Mott phase has two degenerate gapped quadratic excitation spectra which graduate into two degenerate gapless linear ones at the transition point, and one gapless linear mode with one gapped quadratic mode in the superfluid phase.