Evidence for Metallic Behavior in an Atomic Bose-Hubbard System
David C. McKay, Matt White, Matthew Pasienski, Brian DeMarco
Abstract
We have observed a metallic-like state, which persists to the zerotemperature limit, in a 3D Bose-Hubbard system of ultra-cold atoms trapped in an optical lattice. The damping rate of atomic motion— the analog of electrical resistance in a solid—in the confining parabolic potential fits well to a model that includes finite damping at zero temperature. The low-temperature behavior is consistent with the theory of quantum tunneling of phase slips, while at higher temperatures a cross-over consistent with the transition between quantum tunneling and thermal activation of phase slips is evident. The existence of a metallic phase in a bosonic system may have implications for the unusual dissipative phases apparent in solid-state superconducting films. The ground state of a system of bosons is predicted to be either superconducting or insulating (1). However, experiments on superconducting films have shown that a dissipative phase can exist to the lowest temperatures attainable. For example, experiments on