We investigate the ground state properties of a lattice trapped bosonic system coupled to a Lieb–Liniger type gas. Our main goal is the description and in depth exploration and analysis of the two-species many-body quantum system including all relevant correlations beyond the standard mean-field approach. To achieve this, we use the multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree method for mixtures (ML-MCTDHX). Increasing the lattice depth and the interspecies interaction strength, the wave function undergoes a transition from an uncorrelated to a highly correlated state, which manifests itself in the localization of the lattice atoms in the latter regime. For small interspecies couplings, we identify the process responsible for this cross-over in a single-particle-like picture. Moreover, we give a full characterization of the wave function's structure in both regimes, using Bloch and Wannier states of the lowest band, and we find an order parameter, which can be exploited as a corresponding experimental signature. To deepen the understanding, we use an effective Hamiltonian approach, which introduces an induced interaction and is valid for small interspecies interaction. We finally compare the ansatz of the effective Hamiltonian with the results of the ML-MCTDHX simulations.
Abstract We investigate the ground state properties and the nonequilibrium dynamics of a lattice trapped bosonic mixture consisting of an impurity species and a finite-sized medium. For the case of one as well as two impurities we observe that, depending on the lattice depth and the interspecies interaction strength, a transition from a strongly delocalized to a localized impurity distribution occurs. In the latter regime the two species phase separate, thereby forming a particle–hole pair. For two impurities we find that below a critical lattice depth they are delocalized among two neighboring outer lattice wells and are two-body correlated. This transition is characterized by a crossover from strong to a suppressed interspecies entanglement for increasing impurity-medium repulsion. Turning to the dynamical response of the mixture, upon quenching the interspecies repulsion to smaller values, we reveal that the predominant tunneling process for a single impurity corresponds to that of a particle–hole pair, whose dynamical stability depends strongly on the quench amplitude. During the time-evolution a significant increase of the interspecies entanglement is observed, caused by the build-up of a superposition of states and thus possesses a many-body nature. In the case of two bosonic impurities the particle–hole pair process becomes unstable in the course of the dynamics with the impurities aggregating in adjacent lattice sites while being strongly correlated.
We extent the recently developed Multi-Layer Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree method for Bosons for simulating the correlated quantum dynamics of bosonic mixtures to the fermionic sector and establish a unifying approach for the investigation of the correlated quantum dynamics of a mixture of indistinguishable particles, be it fermions or bosons. Relying on a multi-layer wave-function expansion, the resulting Multi-Layer Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree method for Mixtures (ML-MCTDHX) can be adapted to efficiently resolve system-specific intra- and inter-species correlations. The versatility and efficiency of ML-MCTDHX are demonstrated by applying it to the problem of colliding few-atom mixtures of both Bose-Fermi and Fermi-Fermi types. Thereby, we elucidate the role of correlations in the transmission and reflection properties of the collisional events. In particular, we present examples where the reflection (transmission) at the other atomic species is a correlation-dominated effect, i.e., it is suppressed in the mean-field approximation.
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices constitute a versatile many-body platform with highly tunable parameters, allowing us to emulate a multitude of complex quantum systems, in the laboratory, even those eluding analytical treatment. In particular, the nonequilibrium dynamics of strongly correlated many-body systems represents one of the most challenging problems of modern quantum physics, with applications ranging from thermalization dynamics and transport properties to the management of correlations and the control of the dynamics. Understanding nonequilibrium phenomena of strongly correlated systems is a formidable task. A very promising route to gain insight into such systems is to examine few-body setups which contain only a few relevant degrees of freedom, yet incorporating the quantum correlations between the particles.
The present dissertation contributes to the understanding of the nonequilibrium dynamics of strongly-correlated quantum many-body systems by exploring systems of few-bosons
− of one or two species
− trapped in optical lattices. The systems are driven out-of-equilibrium either by performing a quench of a Hamiltonian parameter or by considering a time-periodic modulation of the external confinement. In the course of several consecutive works, we showcase different ways to couple the nonequilibrium modes, while unveiling their correlated nature and microscopic origin. To simulate the nonequilibrium dynamics, a sophisticated, highly flexible ab-initio method for numerically solving the time-dependent many-body Schrodinger equation is utilized, namely the Multi-Layer Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree Method for Atomic Mixtures (ML-MCTDHX).
Within the first part we study in six consecutive works the correlated nonequilibrium dynamics of few-boson systems in one-dimensional finite lattices. Starting from weak interactions, it is shown that a sudden increase of the interaction strength generates a global density-wave tunneling dynamics as well as intrawell breathing and cradle-like excited-band processes. The cradle process is a dipole-like process generated by the quench-induced over-barrier transport and it is one of the central results of the present thesis. Remarkably enough, the interaction quenches couple the density-wave and cradle modes, inducing resonance phenomena between the inter and intrawell dynamics. We further show that the cradle mode is inherently related to the initial delocalization and, following a quench from strong-to-weak interactions, can be excited only for incommensurate setups with filling larger than unity. Alternatively, a sudden ramping down of the lattice depth which favors the spatial delocalization is employed to access the cradle mode for setups with filling smaller than unity. Following a multiple interaction quench protocol, we observe the rise of several lowest-band tunneling modes as well as the cradle and the breathing mode. Besides the cradle mode, all other excited modes are highly tunable possessing different frequencies during and in between the quenches. In the excitation dynamics a monotonic behavior with increasing quench amplitude and a non-linear dependence on the duration of the application of the quenched interaction strength is revealed. Additionally, a periodic population transfer between momenta for quenches of increasing interaction is observed, with a power-law frequency dependence on the quench amplitude. Linear interaction quenches from a superfluid to a Mott-insulator state excite various inter- and intraband tunneling modes. The competition between the quench rate and the interparticle repulsion leads to a resonant dynamical response, at moderate ramp times, being related to avoided-crossings in the many-body eigenspectrum.
The resultant higher-band excitation dynamics is shown to obey an exponential decay possessing two distinct time scales with varying ramp time. Inspecting the crossover from shallow to deep lattices we find that for a diabatic quench the excited-band fraction decreases, while approaching the adiabatic limit it exhibits a nonlinear behavior for increasing height of the potential barrier. Quenching from strong-to-weak interactions leads to a melting of the Mott-insulator and negligible higher-band excitations.
Performing quenches either on the wavevector or the phase of a spatially dependent interaction profile triggers various tunneling channels and a rich excitation dynamics which is amplified for increasing inhomogeneity amplitude. Most importantly, the phase quench is shown to induce a directional transport enabling us to discern, otherwise, energetically degenerate tunneling pathways.
Finally, a periodic population transfer between distinct momenta for quenches of increasing wavevector and a directed occupation of higher momenta following a phase quench is observed. Employing a quench of an additional harmonic trap from strong-to-weak confinement, we find that the competition between the initial localization and the repulsive interaction leads to a resonant response of the system related to avoided-crossings in the many-body eigenspectrum with varying final trap frequency. Furthermore, we show that these avoided-crossings can be utilized to prepare the system in a desired state.
The second part comprises two efforts and is devoted to the study of the nonequilibrium dynamics of finite ultracold bosonic ensembles in periodically driven one-dimensional optical lattices. For a shaken lattice, a wide range of driving frequencies is covered and a resonant behavior of the intrawell dynamics is revealed and found to be related to a rich intraband excitation spectrum.
Moreover, it is shown that for increasing repulsion a strong suppression of the interwell tunneling and an enhanced excitation dynamics occurs. For a vibrating lattice, an additional interaction quench gives rise to admixtures of different excitations in the outer wells, an enhanced breathing in the center and an amplification of the emerging tunneling dynamics. The occurence of multiple resonances between the inter- and intrawell dynamics at different quench amplitudes is revealed, with the position of the resonances being tunable via the driving frequency and thus allowing for further control of the mode coupling in optical lattices.
In the third and final part of this thesis we unravel the quench dynamics of a Bose-Bose and a Bose-Fermi mixture. Utilizing an interspecies interaction quench we cross the miscibility-immiscibility threshold in a harmonically confined Bose-Bose mixture. We show that increasing the interspecies repulsion coefficient results in a filamentation of the density of each species, with the spontaneously generated filaments being strongly correlated and exhibiting domain-wall structures. Strikingly, by following the reverse quench protocol, i.e., upon decreasing the interspecies interaction strength, the formation of multiple dark-antidark solitary waves is observed. These solitary wave structures are found to decay into the many-body environment, soon after their generation in sharp contrast to the predictions of the mean-field approximation. To relate our findings with possible experimental realizations, we simulate, for the first time for binary mixtures, single-shot images showcasing that the growth rate of the variance of a sample of single-shots probes the degree of entanglement inherent in the system. As a next step we investigate the expansion dynamics of a mass balanced Bose-Fermi mixture confined in a one-dimensional optical lattice upon quenching an imposed harmonic trap from strong-to-weak confinement. Tuning the interspecies interaction strength we realize the immiscible and miscible correlated ground state phases. We further show that the system's dynamical response crucially depends on the initial phase and consists of an expansion of each cloud and an interwell tunneling dynamics. Varying the quench amplitude and referring to a fixed phase a multitude of response regimes is unveiled, being richer within the immiscible phase, which are described by distinct expansion strengths and tunneling channels. Finally, in the expansion dynamics a two-body anti-correlated behavior between the predominantly occupied wells is unveiled.
Ultracold atoms have emerged as an indispensable setting to study quantum many-body systems. Recent experimental and theoretical work has explored the curious phases and novel properties of Bose-Einstein Condensate with optical lattices, and Bose-Einstein Condensate with light-induced artificial spin-orbit coupling. In this thesis, we report our research on these two types of boson systems. In the first topic, in contrast with calculations of bosons in optical lattices that focus on the tight-binding regime, we note that the single-particle states of bosons in a periodic potential generally satisfy the Mathieu equation, and have developed a formalism for studying bosons in an optical lattice using the Mathieu equation. Moreover, based on this formalism, we have proposed a self-consistent scheme for describing interacting bosons in an optical lattice using Hartree Fock approximation. We apply this scheme to quantify the effects of inter-atomic interactions on the properties of bosons in an optical lattice, as exhibited in the comparison between observables of non-interacting and interacting systems, such as the superfluid transition temperature and momentum distribution as probed in time-of-flight expansion. In the second topic, the phases of a Bose-Einstein condensate with light-induced spin-orbit coupling are studied within the mean-field approximation. We obtain the phase diagram at fixed chemical potential and at fixed density for bosons with spin-orbit coupling, finding a regime of phase separation and a regime in which the bosons condensed into a mixed phase. We determine how this phase diagram evolves as a function of the atom interaction parameters and as a function of the strength of light-atom coupling. The mixed phase is found to be stable for sufficiently small light-atom coupling. Specifically, we show that the structure of the phase diagram at fixed chemical potential suggests an unusual density dependence for the mixed phase in a harmonic trapping potential, in which the density of one spin increases with increasing radius, suggesting a unique experimental signature of this state. The collective Bogoliubov sound mode is shown to also provide a signature of the mixed phase, vanishing as the boundary to the regime of phase separation is approached. Together, in these two topics we address the need to enhance the understanding of the unconventional physical properties of Bose-Einstein Condensate in a controlled electromagnetic environment (optical lattices, Raman lasers, etc.), and provide predictions for possible experimental findings.
We investigate a binary mixture of bosonic atoms loaded into a state-dependent honeycomb lattice. For this system, the emergence of a so-called twisted-superfluid ground state was experimentally observed in Soltan-Panahi et al. [Nat. Phys. 8, 71 (2012)]. Theoretically, the origin of this effect is not understood. We perform numerical simulations of an extended single-band Bose-Hubbard model adapted to the experimental parameters employing the multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method for Bosons. Our results confirm the overall applicability of mean-field theory in the relevant parameter range, within the extended single-band Bose-Hubbard model. Beyond this, we provide a detailed analysis of correlation effects correcting the mean-field result. These have the potential to induce asymmetries in single shot time-of-flight measurements, but we find no indication of the patterns characteristic of the twisted superfluid. We comment on the restrictions of our model and possible extensions.
We investigate a trapped mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of a multiple number of P species. To be able to do so, an exactly solvable many-body model is called into play. This is the P-species harmonic-interaction model. After presenting the Hamiltonian, the ground-state energy and wavefunction are explicitly calculated. All properties of the mixture's ground state can, in principle, be obtained from the many-particle wavefunction. A scheme to integrate the all-particle density matrix is derived and implemented, leading to closed-form expressions for the reduced one-particle density matrices. Of particular interest is the infinite-particle-number limit, which is obtained when the numbers of bosons are taken to infinity while keeping the interaction parameters fixed. We first prove that at the infinite-particle-number limit all the species are 100% condensed. The mean-field solution of the P-species mixture is also obtained analytically and is used to show that the energy per particle and densities per particle computed at the many-body level of theory boil down to their mean-field counterparts. Despite these, correlations in the mixture exist at the infinite-particle-number limit. To this end, we obtain closed-form expressions for the correlation energy, namely, the difference between the mean-field and many-body energies, and the depletion of the species, i.e., the number of particles residing outside the condensed modes, at the infinite-particle-number limit. The depletion and the correlation energy per species are shown to critically depend on the number of species. Of separate interest is the entanglement between one species of bosons and the other P - 1 species. This quantity is governed by the coupling of the center-of-mass coordinates of the species and is obtained by the respective Schmidt decomposition of the P-species wavefunction. Interestingly, there is an optimal number of species, here P = 3, where the entanglement is maximal. Importantly, the manifestation of this interspecies entanglement in an observable is possible. It is the position-momentum uncertainty product of one species in the presence of the other P - 1 species, which is derived and demonstrated to correlate with the interspecies entanglement. All in all, we show and explain how correlations at the infinite-particle-number limit of a trapped multiple-species bosonic mixture depend on the interactions and how they evolve with the number of species. Generalizations and implications are briefly discussed.