Mixed Bose-Fermi Mott Phases and Phase Transitions

Ehud Altman, Eugene Demler, Achim Rosch

We study the Mott transition of a mixed Bose-Fermi system of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice, where the number of (spinless) fermions and bosons adds up to one atom per lattice, n(F)+n(B)=1. For weak interactions, a Fermi surface coexists with a Bose-Einstein condensate while for strong interaction the system is incompressible but still characterized by a Fermi surface of composite fermions. At the critical point, the spectral function of the fermions A(k,ω) exhibits a pseudogapped behavior, rising as |ω| at the Fermi momentum, while in the Mott phase it is fully gapped. Taking into account the interaction between the critical modes leads at very low temperatures either to p-wave pairing or the transition is driven weakly first order. The same mechanism should also be important in antiferromagnetic metals with a small Fermi surface.

Eric Duchon, Shizhong Zhang, S.-L. Chang +2 more

D. Petrellis, A. Leviatan, F. Iachello

Tim Byrnes, Patrik Recher, Y. Yamamoto

We derive an effective Bose-Hubbard model that predicts a phase transition from Bose-Einstein condensate to Mott insulator in two different systems subject to applied periodic potentials: microcavity exciton polaritons and indirect excitons. Starting from a microscopic Hamiltonian of electrons and holes, we derive an effective Bose-Hubbard model for both systems and evaluate the on-site Coulomb interaction $U$ and hopping transition amplitudes $t$. Experimental parameters required for observing a phase transition between a Bose-Einstein condensate and a Mott insulator are discussed. Our results suggest that strong periodic potentials and polaritons with a very large excitonic component are required for observing the phase transition. The form of the indirect exciton interaction is derived including direct and exchange components of the Coulomb interaction. For indirect excitons, the system crosses over from a Bose-Hubbard model into a double layer Fermi-Hubbard model as a function of increasing bilayer separation. The Fermi-Hubbard model parameters are calculated, and the criteria for the location of this crossover are derived. We conjecture that a crossover between a Bose Mott insulator to a Fermi Mott insulator should occur with increasing bilayer separation.

Han Jiu-Rong, Yufan Wang, Weiqiang Liu

We show the energy band structure of ultracold atomic Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices: two energy bands for bosonic atoms and a single band for fermionic atoms. The energy band structure can determine the superfluid Mott-insulator phase transition. We find the phase diagram of the mixture by means of path integral, and the phase transition depending on the experimental parameters. The possibility of observing these new phases and their transitions in future experiments is discussed.

Lincoln D. Carr, Daniel E. Sheehy, Murray Holland