The advancement in the eld of cold-atoms has generated a lot of interest in the condensed matter community. Cold-atom experiments can simulate clean, disor-der/impurity free systems very easily. In these systems, we have a control over various parameters like tuning the interaction between particles by the Feshbach resonance, tuning the hopping between lattice sites by laser intensity and so on. As a result, these systems can be used to mimic various theoretical models, which was hindered because of various experimental limitations. Thus, we have an ex-perimental tool in which we can start with a simple theoretical model and later tune the model experimentally and theoretically to simulate the real materials. This will be helpful in studying the physics of the real materials as we can control interactions as well as the impurities can also be taken care of. But the advance-ment in the eld of cold atoms has seen a roadblock for the fermions in optical lattices. The super uid and anti-ferromagnetic phases has not been achieved for fermions in optical lattices due to the \cooling problem (entropy issues).
In this thesis, we have addressed the issue of the \cooling problem for fermions in optical lattice systems and studied the system with determinant quantum Monte Carlo technique. We start by giving a general idea of cold-atoms and optical lat-tice potentials, and a brief review of the experimental work going on in the cold-atomic systems. Experimental limitations like \fermionic cooling problem have been discussed in some detail. Then we proposed a bilayer band-insulator model to circumvent the \entropy problem and simultaneously increasing the transi-tion temperature for fermions in optical lattices. We have studied the attractive Hubbard model, which is the minimal model for fermions in optical lattices. The techniques that we have used to study the model are mean- eld theory, Gaussian uctuation theory and determinant quantum Monte Carlo numerical technique. . Chapter-1 : provides a general introduction to the ultra-cold atoms, optical lattice and Feshbach resonance. In this chapter we have discussed about cold-atom experiments in optical lattice systems. Here, we have brie y discussed the control over various parameters in the experiments. The goal of these experiments is to realize or mimic many many-body Hamiltonians in experiments, which until now was just a theoretical tool to describe various many-body physics. In the end we give a brief idea for introducing disorder in the cold-atom experiments discuss the limitations of these experiments in realizing the \interesting super uid and anti-ferromagnetic phases of fermionic Hubbard model in optical lattices.
Chapter-2 : gives a brief idea of \Determinant Quantum Monte-Carlo (DQM C) technique that has been used to study these systems. In this chapter we will discuss the DQM C algorithm and the observables that can be calculated. We will discuss certain limitation of the DQM C algorithm like numerical instability and sign problem. We will brie y discuss how…
The advancement in the eld of cold-atoms has generated a lot of interest in the condensed matter community. Cold-atom experiments can simulate clean, disor-der/impurity free systems very easily. In these systems, we have a control over various parameters like tuning the interaction between particles by the Feshbach resonance, tuning the hopping between lattice sites by laser intensity and so on. As a result, these systems can be used to mimic various theoretical models, which was hindered because of various experimental limitations. Thus, we have an ex-perimental tool in which we can start with a simple theoretical model and later tune the model experimentally and theoretically to simulate the real materials. This will be helpful in studying the physics of the real materials as we can control interactions as well as the impurities can also be taken care of. But the advance-ment in the eld of cold atoms has seen a roadblock for the fermions in optical lattices. The super uid and anti-ferromagnetic phases has not been achieved for fermions in optical lattices due to the \cooling problem (entropy issues).
In this thesis, we have addressed the issue of the \cooling problem for fermions in optical lattice systems and studied the system with determinant quantum Monte Carlo technique. We start by giving a general idea of cold-atoms and optical lat-tice potentials, and a brief review of the experimental work going on in the cold-atomic systems. Experimental limitations like \fermionic cooling problem have been discussed in some detail. Then we proposed a bilayer band-insulator model to circumvent the \entropy problem and simultaneously increasing the transi-tion temperature for fermions in optical lattices. We have studied the attractive Hubbard model, which is the minimal model for fermions in optical lattices. The techniques that we have used to study the model are mean- eld theory, Gaussian uctuation theory and determinant quantum Monte Carlo numerical technique. . Chapter-1 : provides a general introduction to the ultra-cold atoms, optical lattice and Feshbach resonance. In this chapter we have discussed about cold-atom experiments in optical lattice systems. Here, we have brie y discussed the control over various parameters in the experiments. The goal of these experiments is to realize or mimic many many-body Hamiltonians in experiments, which until now was just a theoretical tool to describe various many-body physics. In the end we give a brief idea for introducing disorder in the cold-atom experiments discuss the limitations of these experiments in realizing the \interesting super uid and anti-ferromagnetic phases of fermionic Hubbard model in optical lattices.
Chapter-2 : gives a brief idea of \Determinant Quantum Monte-Carlo (DQM C) technique that has been used to study these systems. In this chapter we will discuss the DQM C algorithm and the observables that can be calculated. We will discuss certain limitation of the DQM C algorithm like numerical instability and sign problem. We will brie y discuss how…
The ability to cool fermions in optical lattices to ultra cold temperatures has led to an interdisciplinary area of research, that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. An interesting development in this area is the possibility to realize models for strongly correlated fermions in the laboratory, such as the fermionic Hubbard Model. Determinantal Quantum Monte Carlo simulations have proven to be an important tool in the study of fermionic atoms. Nonetheless, it is important to compare the results and efficiency of different methods. Here comparisons with Numerical Linked Cluster Expansion and Dynamical Mean Field Theory data for double occupation and short range correlations, both relevant to current optical lattice experiments, will be presented and discussed. Another topic relevant in the context of optical lattice experiments is the study of metal insulator transitions. Indeed, the Mott insulating phase has been realized and observed in two-flavor mixtures of fermionic atoms loaded on optical lattices, being characterized both by the double occupation and the compressibility. An interesting point that has been addressed in the literature over the years is whether the same fermion-fermion interaction, responsible for the Mott insulating state, could drive an insulating system metallic. Here we show that, when fermions are loaded in optical lattices with spatially varying interactions a correlation induced Mott insulator to metal transition can take place. The spatial modulation of the interactions was recently demonstrated and opens the possibility for the experimental realization of such exotic phases.
This dissertation summarizes my recent work regarding systems of strongly interacting fermionic atoms in optical lattices. This work addresses the combination of two experimental techniques that have been the subject of much recent research in ultracold atom physics. One is the use of optical lattices, which provide a means to realize diverse interaction configurations within a clean, controllable system. The other is the use of magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances to control the strength of the interatomic interaction. Together, these techniques offer the possibility of an experimental realization of many important model Hamiltonians of condensed matter physics, and may also lead to the discovery of new physics. Recent study of this system has shown that strong interactions near Feshbach resonance will lead to the population of multiple lattice bands, and that collisions between atoms on neighboring sites cannot be neglected. These effects lead to a complicated Hamiltonian, but one which can be simplified to an effective single-band model equivalent to the generalized Hubbard model (GHM), which is an extension of the Hubbard model that includes correlated hopping terms. My main results concern the study of this model. The strong correlations between the particles make it difficult to definitively determine the many body physics of the GHM. As a first approach to understanding the GHM in optical lattices, I focus mainly on cases where the problem is greatly simplified by allowing interactions among only small groups of lattice sites. This restriction can be implemented in experiments using an optical superlattice potential. Our results include a proposed scheme (based on double-well superlattices) to empirically verify that the GHM describes this system and to directly measure the various parameters of this model. Other results include exact solutions on four-site square plaquettes, which demonstrate that d-wave excitations can occur in the low-energy states. By using a superlattice to give an array of weakly coupled plaquettes, one can thus produce a d-wave superfluid state. This is of relevance to the study of high-Tc superconductors, although I note certain key differences between the sort of d-wave superfluid described here and that of the superconductors.
We propose a model to realize a fermionic superfluid state in an optical lattice circumventing the cooling problem. Our proposal exploits the idea of tuning the interaction in a characteristically low-entropy state, a band insulator in an optical bilayer system, to obtain a superfluid. By performing a detailed analysis of the model including fluctuations and augmented by a variational quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the ground state, we show that the superfluid state obtained has a high transition temperature of the order of the hopping energy. Our system is designed to suppress other competing orders such as a charge density wave. We suggest a laboratory realization of this model via an orthogonally shaken optical lattice bilayer.
The present thesis is devoted to the study of physical phenomena emerging from strong correlations in strongly interacting quantum many-body systems with several components. Hubbard models are widely used as minimal models which take into account the interactions between particles and they have been studied in relation to phenomena such as Mott localization, unconventional superconductivity, quantum magnetism and many others. All of these striking phenomena share their origin from the strong correlations among fermions induced by their mutual interactions. Furthermore, condensed matter models are usually realized only in an approximate fashion in actual solid-state systems, making the situation all the more puzzling and hard to be treated analytically or numerically. Therefore, a great effort has been performed to simulate Hubbard models in a system of atoms cooled down to ultra low temperatures and trapped in optical lattices. The most peculiar feature of cold atoms experiments consists in the possibility of tuning relevant physical parameters of the systems, as the density or the interactions among atoms, using laser and/or magnetic fields. This paved the way to the observation of fundamental quantum states of matter as the weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate, the super fluid to Mott insulator transition, the super fluid BEC-BCS crossover, the Mott transition in systems of composite fermions and so on. Hence, it is considered of great interest establishing connections between the quantum simulations cold atomic toolbox and systems realized in solid-state physics...
Various topics at the interface between condensed matter physics and the physics of ultra-cold fermionic atoms in optical lattices are discussed. The lectures start with basic considerations on energy scales, and on the regimes in which a description by an effective Hubbard model is valid. Qualitative ideas about the Mott transition are then presented, both for bosons and fermions, as well as mean-field theories of this phenomenon. Antiferromagnetism of the fermionic Hubbard model at half-filling is briefly reviewed. The possibility that interaction effects facilitate adiabatic cooling is discussed, and the importance of using entropy as a thermometer is emphasized. Geometrical frustration of the lattice, by suppressing spin long-range order, helps revealing genuine Mott physics and exploring unconventional quantum magnetism. The importance of measurement techniques to probe quasiparticle excitations in cold fermionic systems is emphasized, and a recent proposal based on stimulated Raman scattering briefly reviewed. The unconventional nature of these excitations in cuprate superconductors is emphasized.
Various topics at the interface between condensed matter physics and the physics of ultra-cold fermionic atoms in optical lattices are discussed. The lectures start with basic considerations on energy scales, and on the regimes in which a description by an effective Hubbard model is valid. Qualitative ideas about the Mott transition are then presented, both for bosons and fermions, as well as mean-field theories of this phenomenon. Antiferromagnetism of the fermionic Hubbard model at half-filling is briefly reviewed. The possibility that interaction effects facilitate adiabatic cooling is discussed, and the importance of using entropy as a thermometer is emphasized. Geometrical frustration of the lattice, by suppressing spin long-range order, helps revealing genuine Mott physics and exploring unconventional quantum magnetism. The importance of measurement techniques to probe quasiparticle excitations in cold fermionic systems is emphasized, and a recent proposal based on stimulated Raman scattering briefly reviewed. The unconventional nature of these excitations in cuprate superconductors is emphasized.