arXiv:2306.04477
Observation of 2D Mott insulator and $π$-superfluid quantum phase transition in shaking optical lattice
Jingxin Sun, Pengju Zhao, Zhongshu Hu, Shengjie Jin, Ren Liao, Xiong-Jun Liu, Xuzong Chen
Abstract
The Mott insulator and superfluid phase transition is one of the most prominent phenomena in ultracold atoms. In this work, we report the observation of a novel 2D quantum phase transition between Mott insulator and $π$ superfluid in a shaking optical lattice. In the deep optical lattice regime, the lowest $s$-band can be tuned to Mott phase, while the higher $p_{x,y}$ bands are itinerant for having larger bandwidth. Through a shaking technique coupling the $s$ orbital to $p_{x,y}$ orbital states, we experimentally observe the transition between the states of the $s$ and $p_{x,y}$ bands, leading to a quantum phase transition from 2D $s$-orbital Mott phase to the $p_{x,y}$-orbital superfluid which condensed at $(π,π)$ momentum.