The Bose-Hubbard model is used to study bosons in optical lattices. In this thesis we will use an extended Bose-Hubbard model to study a type of completely localized solutions, called compactons. The compactons are a special case of the much studied solitons. The soliton is a familiar concept in non-linear physics. It is a stable, localized wave-solution, found in a range of different systems; from DNA-molecules to optical fibers. The compacton is a soliton that is completely localized, i.e. strictly zero outside a given area. The dynamics of the (extended) Bose-Hubbard model is based on the tunneling of particles between the lattice sites. The ordinary Bose-Hubbard model only accounts for one-particle tunneling processes. We will consider a model that also takes some two-particle tunneling processes into account, basically by considering long-range effects of the particle interaction. The aim of this thesis is to find and study the quantum analog of the compactons found in an extended Discrete Non-Linear Schrödinger equation. We will study analytical solutions and try to find if and under which conditions specific compactons exist. Numerical calculations are made to study the properties of the compactons and to study how compacton solutions arise in the classical limit.
The Bose-Hubbard model is used to study bosons in optical lattices. In this thesis we will use an extended Bose-Hubbard model to study a type of completely localized solutions, called compactons. The compactons are a special case of the much studied solitons. The soliton is a familiar concept in non-linear physics. It is a stable, localized wave-solution, found in a range of different systems; from DNA-molecules to optical fibers. The compacton is a soliton that is completely localized, i.e. strictly zero outside a given area. The dynamics of the (extended) Bose-Hubbard model is based on the tunneling of particles between the lattice sites. The ordinary Bose-Hubbard model only accounts for one-particle tunneling processes. We will consider a model that also takes some two-particle tunneling processes into account, basically by considering long-range effects of the particle interaction. The aim of this thesis is to find and study the quantum analog of the compactons found in an extended Discrete Non-Linear Schrödinger equation. We will study analytical solutions and try to find if and under which conditions specific compactons exist. Numerical calculations are made to study the properties of the compactons and to study how compacton solutions arise in the classical limit.
Lattice Compactons, discrete breathers with compact support, were found for a discrete nonlinear Schrodinger (DNLS) equation extended with nearest neighbour intersite nonlinearities [1], a model originally studied with waveguide arrays in mind. These compactons were shown to exhibit very good mobility if the parameters are tuned close to the compactons stability boundary. The DNLS can also be used to model the behaviour of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices, and the remarkable control over the experiments in this field of research has made it possible to study the quantum mechanics of strongly correlated atoms.We will define the concept of a Quantum Lattice Compacton [2] and discuss the existence and dynamics, with special emphasis on mobility [3], of these in an extended Bose-Hubbard model corresponding to above-mentioned extended DNLS equation in the quantum mechanical limit. The compactons is given 'a kick' by means of a phase-gradient and it is shown that the size of this phase is crucial for the mobility of the compactons. For small phase-gradients, corresponding to a slow coherent motion in the classical model, the time-scales of the quantum tunnelings become of the same order as the time-scale of the translational motion and the classical mobility is destroyed by quantum fluctuations. For large phase-gradients, corresponding to rapid classical motion, the classical and quantum time-scales separate so that a mobile, localized coherent quantum state can be translated many sites in the lattice already for small particle numbers of the order of 10 [3].Acknowledgements: This project has been financed by the Swedish Research Council.References[1] M. Oster, M. Johansson, and A. Eriksson 2003 Phys. Rev. E 67 056606[2] P. Jason and M. Johansson 2012 Phys. Rev. A 85 011603(R)[3] P. Jason and M. Johansson 2013 Phys. Rev. A 88 033605
In order to explore a quantum version of a discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation (DNLS), we quantize one nonlinear Schrodinger model, which is used to study different physical systems, e.g. coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. We will focus on small systems, like Dimer and Trimer.In our efforts to solve this quantum problem, we develop a Mathematica routine that implements the Number State Method and solves the corresponding Schrodinger equation. We calculate analytically and numerically the energy spectrum of the Dimer and Trimer systems. Those eigenenergies depend on the parameter set Q=Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5 and by adjusting this set Q, we can obtain the desired results and examine their effects. After the quantization of the extended DNLS we obtain a quantum DNLS, also known as an extended Bose-Hubbard (BH) model. The aim of this Master's thesis is to study the differences and similarities between the classical DNLS and the extended BH model, and what happens when we approach from the quantum regime to the classical one. Taking into account that the Hamiltonian has an important conserved quantity, the number operator, enables the total Hamiltonian to be block-diagonalized. This can be accomplished by taking advantage of additional symmetries, such as translational symmetry, which will simplify the analysis of the Hamiltonian matrix. In our results we discuss several effects that break the lattice symmetry, as the intersection between symmetric and antisymmetric states. We also compare our results with those obtained in previous works for the classical model, and we find some similarities, e.g. the transition of the highest-energy state from a one-site solution to a two-site solution depending on which Q parameters we vary, but also differences, as the appearance of a three-site solution, in a Trimer system.
In this thesis we consider the application of phase-space methods to Bose-Einstein condensates; the work comprises of three main parts: Part I: A phase-space method for the Bose-Hubbard model; Part II: An analogue model of an expanding universe in Bose-Einstein condensates. and Part III: An analogue model of an acoustic Black Hole in Bose-Einstein condensates. In part I we present a phase-space method for the Bose-Hubbard model based on the Qfunction representation. In particular, we consider two model Hamiltonians in the mean-field approximation; the first is the standard “one site” model where quantum tunneling is approximated entirely using mean-field terms; the second “two site” model explicitly includes tunneling between two adjacent sites while treating tunneling with other neighbouring sites using the meanfield approximation. The ground state is determined by minimising the classical energy functional subject to quantum mechanical constraints, which take the form of uncertainty relations. For each model Hamiltonian we compare the ground state results from the Q-function method with the exact numerical solution. The results from the Q-function method, which are easy to compute, give a good qualitative description of the main features of the Bose-Hubbard model including the superfluid to Mott insulator. We find the quantum mechanical constraints dominate the problem and show there are some limitations of the method particularly in the weak lattice regime. Analogue models of gravity have been motivated by the possibility of investigating phenomena not readily accessible in their cosmological counterparts. In particular, the prediction of quasiparticle creation in ultra-cold Bose gases in specific configurations can be viewed as an analogue to either cosmological particle creation or the Hawking effect. In part II of this thesis we investigate the analogue of cosmological particle creation in an expanding universe by numerically simulating a Bose-Einstein condensate with a time-dependent scattering length. In particular, we simulate a 2D homogeneous condensate using the classical field method via the truncated Wigner approximation. We show that for several different expansion scenarios the calculated particle production is consistent with the underlying theory. For inflationary models we find the particle production for long wavelength modes coincides with the analytic theory within the acoustic approximation, whereas the particle production is suppressed for short wavelength (ie. free-particle like) modes. Moreover, particle production is enhanced for faster expansions, approaching the analytic result for the sudden expansion in the limit of a very fast expansion. For the case of a cyclic expansion, particle production peaks for a mode frequency that is approximately half of the driving frequency as expected for parametric resonance. In part III of this thesis we investigate an acoustic black hole in a Bose-Einstein condensate, formed by two de Laval nozzles in a ring configuration — a system we refer to as the quantum de Laval nozzle. Our model is formulated in one dimension with a sinusoidal potential. For nonzero superfluid flow, this system can exhibit stable transonic flow with both black and white hole sonic horizons. Stationary states are found by solving the time-independent Gross-Pitaevskii equation subject to a phase quantisation constraint. By solving the projected Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for the system, we also find the discrete spectrum and quasiparticle modes. There are dynamical instabilities for certain values of winding number and potential depth, for which it is possible to construct pairs of normalisable modes. We further investigate the dynamics of the system using a classical field method based on the truncated Wigner approximation. For a low winding number and unstable configuration, we find exponential growth for the pair of unstable modes, whereas there is no growth in these modes for a stable configuration. This can be interpreted as non-degenerate parametric amplification, valid for short times. In contrast, for a large winding number, there is significant growth in modes for both stable and unstable configurations. This is indicative of higher order processes neglected in the quasiparticle picture, which is further reinforced by that fact that large winding number solutions require large nonlinearities. Finally, we consider the connection of our results with the usual semi-classical prediction of the Hawking effect. For an unstable configuration, the normalised unstable modes couple equal and opposite real frequencies, so that the growth in these modes represents the closest analogy with the Hawking effect for our quantum system.
In Chapter 1 we set up the physical and mathematical framework for the description of interacting
bosons on a lattice. After a brief introduction to the basic concepts of Bose-Einstein condensation, and
how the condensate can be manipulated using optical lattices, we derive the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian
(BHH) which is the paradigm model as far as the quantum description is concerned. Then the semiclassical
limit of the BHH – the discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation (DNLS) – as well as the mean-field
(classical) description, the so-called Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE), is discussed. We give an overview
of the relevant literature and of the various physical systems that are captured by the BHH including,
among others, arrays of Josephson junctions and bond vibrations in small molecules. The chapter ends
with an outline of the remaining thesis.
In Chapter 2, we look at some interesting experiments done in cold bosonic systems. Ostensibly,
done to realize the dc and ac Josephson effect in a system of cold bosons, it was soon found that the
system can show some rather interesting non-linear behavior. This includes features such as solitons
and breathers , but most interestingly, it shows the damping of the center-of-mass motion. Theoretical
explanations are given for both the experiments. The damping of center-of-mass of the system is seen as
a result of modulational instability. We give a different interpretation to this opening up lines for further
investigations. We outline these at the end of the chapter.
In Chapter 3, we discuss various experiments which contradicted the idea of a sharp modulational
instability. Rather, the loss of coherence is smeared out over a large domain. We then reproduce some
calculations from the literature showing how the dissipation can be thought of as arising from quantum
phase slips. We calculate the tunneling rates for quantum phase slips and show a phase diagram demarcating
stable and unstable regions of current which have been have obtained from mean-field calculations
via the Gutzwiller ansatz.
In Chapter 4, we look at the problem in details analyzing it as a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. The
framework of Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid is actually a non-perturbative tool through which we can investigate
an one-dimensional interacting bosonic fluid. We look at two possible mechanisms of decay
of current- We look at the effect of a weak link in a Josephson Junction array as well as local quantum
phase slips on a bosonic superfluid. We find that quantum phase slips are actually irrelevant under
renormalisation group in both cases and the supercurrent is revived.
In chapter 5, we look at the non-linear dynamics of the structures in greater detail, thus elucidating
chaos. This mechanism of chaos is different from all realizations of chaos known so far and is a result of
phase fluctuations, which are encoded by quantum phase slips.
We study the dynamical properties, with special emphasis on mobility, of quantum lattice compactons (QLCs) in a one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model extended with pair-correlated hopping. These are quantum counterparts of classical lattice compactons (localized solutions with exact zero amplitude outside a given region) of an extended discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation, which can be derived in the classical limit from the extended Bose-Hubbard model. While an exact one-site QLC eigenstate corresponds to a classical one-site compacton, the compact support of classical several-site compactons is destroyed by quantum fluctuations. We show that it is possible to reproduce the stability exchange regions of the one-site and two-site localized solutions in the classical model with properly chosen quantum states. Quantum dynamical simulations are performed for two different types of initial conditions: ``localized ground states'' which are localized wave packets built from superpositions of compactonlike eigenstates, and SU(4) coherent states corresponding to classical two-site compactons. Clear signatures of the mobility of classical lattice compactons are seen, but this crucially depends on the magnitude of the applied phase gradient. For small phase gradients, which classically correspond to a slow coherent motion, the quantum time scale is of the same order as the time scale of the translational motion, and the classical mobility is therefore destroyed by quantum fluctuations. For a large phase instead, corresponding to fast classical motion, the time scales separate so that a mobile, localized, coherent quantum state can be translated many sites for particle numbers already of the order of 10.
Originally, the Hubbard model was derived for describing the behavior of strongly correlated electrons in solids. However, for over a decade now, variations of it have also routinely been implemented with ultracold atoms in optical lattices, allowing their study in a clean, essentially defect-free environment. Here, we review some of the vast literature on this subject, with a focus on more recent non-standard forms of the Hubbard model. After giving an introduction to standard (fermionic and bosonic) Hubbard models, we discuss briefly common models for mixtures, as well as the so-called extended Bose-Hubbard models, that include interactions between neighboring sites, next-neighbor sites, and so on. The main part of the review discusses the importance of additional terms appearing when refining the tight-binding approximation for the original physical Hamiltonian. Even when restricting the models to the lowest Bloch band is justified, the standard approach neglects the density-induced tunneling (which has the same origin as the usual on-site interaction). The importance of these contributions is discussed for both contact and dipolar interactions. For sufficiently strong interactions, the effects related to higher Bloch bands also become important even for deep optical lattices. Different approaches that aim at incorporating these effects, mainly via dressing the basis, Wannier functions with interactions, leading to effective, density-dependent Hubbard-type models, are reviewed. We discuss also examples of Hubbard-like models that explicitly involve higher p orbitals, as well as models that dynamically couple spin and orbital degrees of freedom. Finally, we review mean-field nonlinear Schrödinger models of the Salerno type that share with the non-standard Hubbard models nonlinear coupling between the adjacent sites. In that part, discrete solitons are the main subject of consideration. We conclude by listing some open problems, to be addressed in the future.