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arXiv:1909.10191 · Physical Review A

Realizing the Harper model with ultracold atoms in a ring lattice

Kunal K. Das, Jacob Christ

Published Jan 3, 2019• 25 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate that all of the salient features of the Harper-Hofstadter model can be implemented with ultracold atoms trapped in a bichromatic ring-shaped lattice. Using realistic sinusoidal lattice potentials rather than assume the idealized tight-binding picture, we determine the optimal conditions necessary to realize the critical point where the spectrum becomes fractal, and we identify the nature and cause of the departures from the discrete model predictions. We also show that even with a commensurate ring with a few lattice sites, the Aubry-Andr\'e localization transition can be realized. Localized states that behave like edge states with energies that reside in the band gaps can be generated by introducing a surprisingly small local perturbation within the ring. Spectrum oscillation arising from complex coupling can be implemented by uniform rotation of the ring, but with certain significant differences that are explained.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.99.013604

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We demonstrate that all of the salient features of the Harper-Hofstadter model can be implemented with ultracold atoms trapped in a bichromatic ring-shaped lattice. Using realistic sinusoidal lattice potentials rather than assume the idealized tight-binding picture, we determine the optimal conditions necessary to realize the critical point where the spectrum becomes fractal, and we identify the nature and cause of the departures from the discrete model predictions. We also show that even with a commensurate ring with a few lattice sites, the Aubry-Andr'e localization transition can be realized. Localized states that behave like edge states with energies that reside in the band gaps can be generated by introducing a surprisingly small local perturbation within the ring. Spectrum oscillation arising from complex coupling can be implemented by uniform rotation of the ring, but with certain significant differences that are explained.
Ultracold atomic systems offer a highly controllable platform for investigating quantum state transfer through the precise dynamical manipulation of system parameters. While quantized Thouless pumping has been extensively explored in these systems, adiabatic edge-to-edge transfer of localized quantum states remains largely unexplored. Here, we consider a one-dimensional ultracold atomic gas confined in a bichromatic optical lattice realizing a quasiperiodic Aubry--André--Harper system. We use its edge-localized winding states to implement quantum state transfer between opposite boundaries. Starting from the instantaneous spectral properties of the corresponding tight-binding model, we construct locally adiabatic protocols and extend the approach to higher protocol orders. We then simulate their dynamics under the full continuum bichromatic-lattice Hamiltonian. Our results reveal a tradeoff between edge localization and the minimum spectral gap: strongly localized states require longer transfer times, but can benefit substantially from higher protocol orders. We are also able to capture the main fidelity trends and coherent oscillations over a broad parameter regime using an effective two-level Landau--Zener description. Our results provide practical guidelines for selecting experimentally accessible parameters and tailoring quantum transfer protocols in quasiperiodic ultracold atomic systems.
We investigate the localization transition in a one-dimensional extended Aubry–André–Harper (AAH) model, emphasizing its implementation as a quantum simulator in ultracold atomic optical lattices. In the single-particle case, quasi-periodic hopping modulation allows the localization transition point to be clearly observed even for small system sizes. By driving the system into strongly Anderson localized states immediately after the transition, we observe a sharp many-body localization (MBL) transition upon introducing interactions, with the MBL transition point closely approaching that of Anderson localization. To demonstrate the effects of interactions, we map out a global phase diagram and find that critical states in this model are easily thermalized. Contrary to previous studies where enhanced interactions significantly promoted thermalization, we find that increasing interactions does not notably shift the MBL transition point. Importantly, our setup offers a practical and experimentally accessible platform for studying sharp MBL transitions using ultracold atoms in optical lattices, bridging MBL physics with advances in quantum optics and cold-atom technologies.
We study the landscape of solutions of the coherent quantum states in a ring-shaped lattice potential in the context of ultracold atoms with an effective positive nonlinearity induced by interatomic interactions. The exact analytical solutions in the absence of lattice are used as a starting point, and the transformation of those solutions is mapped as the lattice is introduced and strengthened. This approach allows a simple classification of all the solutions into states with periods commensurate or incommensurate with the lattice period and those with or without nodes. Their origins are traced to the primary dispersion curve and the swallowtail branches of the lattice-free spectrum. The commensurate states tend to remain delocalized with increasing lattice depth, whereas the incommensurate ones may be localized. The symmetry and stability properties of the solutions are examined and correlated with branch energies. The crucial importance of rotation is highlighted by its utility in continuously transforming solutions and accessing in a finite ring with a few sites the full spectrum of nonlinear Bloch waves on an infinite lattice.
We suggest the possibility to realize an optical quasicrystal with ultracold atoms in far-detuned, bichromatic standing light waves. If the optical potentials created by the individual light waves have sufficiently different strength, one obtains an atom-optical realization of Harper's model. This model exhibits a metal-insulator transition at a certain value of the site-to-site hopping integral. Since this hopping integral is effectively renormalized by an additional oscillating force, one can switch from the regime of extended states to the regime of localized states by varying the amplitude of that force.