arXiv:2501.14887 · Physical Review A
Strong-coupling random-phase-approximation theory of a Bose gas near the superfluid–Mott-insulator transition: Universal thermodynamics and two-body contact
N. Dupuis, Moksh Bhateja, Adam Rançon
Abstract
We present a strong-coupling expansion of the Bose-Hubbard model based on a mean-field treatment of the hopping term, while onsite fluctuations are taken into account exactly. This random phase approximation describes the universal features of the generic Mott-insulator--superfluid transition (induced by a density change) and the superfluid state near the phase transition. The critical quasiparticles at the quantum critical point have a quadratic dispersion with an effective mass ${m}^{*}$ and their mutual interaction is described by an effective $s$-wave scattering length ${a}^{*}$. The singular part of the pressure takes the same form as in a dilute Bose gas, provided we replace the boson mass $m$ and the scattering length in vacuum $a$ by ${m}^{*}$ and ${a}^{*}$, and the density $n$ by the excess density $|n\ensuremath{-}{n}_{\mathrm{MI}}|$ of particles (or holes) with respect to the Mott insulator. We define a universal two-body contact ${C}_{\mathrm{univ}}$ that controls the high-momentum tail $\ensuremath{\sim}1/{|\mathbf{k}|}^{4}$ of the singular part ${n}_{\mathbf{k}}^{\mathrm{sing}}$ of the momentum distribution. We also apply the strong-coupling RPA to a lattice model of hard-core bosons and find that the high-momentum distribution is controlled by a universal contact, in complete agreement with the Bose-Hubbard model. Finally, we discuss a continuum model of bosons in an optical lattice and define two additional two-body contacts: a short-distance universal contact ${C}_{\mathrm{univ}}^{\mathrm{sd}}$ which controls the high-momentum tail of ${n}_{\mathbf{k}}^{\mathrm{sing}}$ at scales larger than the inverse lattice spacing, and a full contact $C$, which controls the high-momentum tail of the full-momentum distribution ${n}_{\mathbf{k}}$.