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Bloch-Zener oscillations

B. M. Breid, D. Witthaut, H. J. Korsch

Published Jan 1, 2006• 54 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

It is well known that a particle in a periodic potential with an additional constant force performs Bloch oscillations. Modulating every second period of the potential, the original Bloch band splits into two subbands. The dynamics of quantum particles shows a coherent superposition of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling between the subbands, a Bloch-Zener oscillation. Such a system is modelled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian, a system of two minibands with an easily controllable gap. The dynamics of the system is investigated by using an algebraic ansatz leading to a differential equation of Whittaker-Hill type. It is shown that the parameters of the system can be tuned to generate a periodic reconstruction of the wave packet and thus of the occupation probability. As an application, the construction of a matter wave beam splitter and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is briefly discussed. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.75.Be, 03.75.LmBloch-Zener oscillations 2 1.

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Bloch–Zener oscillations

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It is well known that a particle in a periodic potential with an additional constant force performs Bloch oscillations. Modulating every second period of the potential, the original Bloch band splits into two sub-bands. The dynamics of quantum particles shows a coherent superposition of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunnelling between the sub-bands, a Bloch–Zener oscillation. Such a system is modelled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian which is a system of two minibands with an easily controllable gap. The dynamics of the system is investigated by using an algebraic ansatz leading to a differential equation of Whittaker–Hill type. It is shown that the parameters of the system can be tuned to generate a periodic reconstruction of the wave packet and thus of the occupation probability. As an application, the construction of a matter wave beam splitter and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is briefly discussed.

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Manipulation of matter waves using Bloch and Bloch-Zener oscillations

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We present theoretical and numerical results on the dynamics of ultracold atoms in an accelerated single- and double-periodic optical lattice. In the single-periodic potential Bloch oscillations can be used to generate fast directed transport with very little dispersion. The dynamics in the double-periodic system is dominated by Bloch-Zener oscillations, i.e. the interplay of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling between the subbands. Apart from directed transport, the latter system permits various interesting applications, such as widely tunable matter wave beam splitters and Mach-Zehnder interferometry. As an application, a method for efficient probing of small nonlinear mean-field interactions is suggested. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.75.Be, 03.75.Dg, 03.75.LmManipulation of matter waves using Bloch and Bloch-Zener oscillations 2 1.

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Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics in single-particle Wannier-Zeeman systems

Yongguan Ke, Xizhou Qin, Honghua Zhong +3 more

Stimulated by the experimental realization of spin-dependent tunneling via a gradient magnetic field [C. J. Kennedy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 225301 (2013); M. Aidelsburger et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185301 (2013)], we investigate the dynamics of Bloch oscillations and Landau-Zener tunneling of single spin-half particles in a periodic potential under the influence of a spin-dependent constant force. In analogy to the Wannier-Stark system, we call our system the Wannier-Zeeman system. If there is no coupling between the two spin states, the system can be described by two crossing Wannier-Stark ladders with opposite tilts. The spatial crossing between two Wannier-Stark ladders becomes a spatial anticrossing if the two spin states are coupled by external fields. For a wave packet away from the spatial anticrossing, due to the spin-dependent constant force, it will undergo spatial Landau-Zener transitions assisted by the intrinsic intraband Bloch oscillations, which we call the Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics. If the interspin coupling is sufficiently strong, the system undergoes adiabatic Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics, in which the spin dynamics follows the local dressed states. Otherwise, for nonstrong interspin couplings, the system undergoes nonadiabatic Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics.

arXiv:1409.7262•Physical Review A•May 12, 2015•17 citations
It is well known that a particle in a periodic potential with an additional constant force performs Bloch oscillations. Modulating every second period of the potential, the original Bloch band splits into two subbands. The dynamics of quantum particles shows a coherent superposition of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling between the subbands, a Bloch-Zener oscillation. Such a system is modelled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian, a system of two minibands with an easily controllable gap. The dynamics of the system is investigated by using an algebraic ansatz leading to a differential equation of Whittaker-Hill type. It is shown that the parameters of the system can be tuned to generate a periodic reconstruction of the wave packet and thus of the occupation probability. As an application, the construction of a matter wave beam splitter and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is briefly discussed. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.75.Be, 03.75.LmBloch-Zener oscillations 2 1.
It is well known that a particle in a periodic potential with an additional constant force performs Bloch oscillations. Modulating every second period of the potential, the original Bloch band splits into two sub-bands. The dynamics of quantum particles shows a coherent superposition of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunnelling between the sub-bands, a Bloch–Zener oscillation. Such a system is modelled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian which is a system of two minibands with an easily controllable gap. The dynamics of the system is investigated by using an algebraic ansatz leading to a differential equation of Whittaker–Hill type. It is shown that the parameters of the system can be tuned to generate a periodic reconstruction of the wave packet and thus of the occupation probability. As an application, the construction of a matter wave beam splitter and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is briefly discussed.
We present theoretical and numerical results on the dynamics of ultracold atoms in an accelerated single- and double-periodic optical lattice. In the single-periodic potential Bloch oscillations can be used to generate fast directed transport with very little dispersion. The dynamics in the double-periodic system is dominated by Bloch-Zener oscillations, i.e. the interplay of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling between the subbands. Apart from directed transport, the latter system permits various interesting applications, such as widely tunable matter wave beam splitters and Mach-Zehnder interferometry. As an application, a method for efficient probing of small nonlinear mean-field interactions is suggested. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.75.Be, 03.75.Dg, 03.75.LmManipulation of matter waves using Bloch and Bloch-Zener oscillations 2 1.
We present theoretical and numerical results on the dynamics of ultracold atoms in an accelerated single- and double-periodic optical lattice. In the single-periodic potential Bloch oscillations can be used to generate fast directed transport with very little dispersion. The dynamics in the double-periodic system is dominated by Bloch–Zener oscillations, i.e. the interplay of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunnelling between the subbands. Apart from directed transport, the latter system permits various interesting applications, such as widely tunable matter wave beam splitters and Mach–Zehnder interferometry. As an application, a method for efficient probing of small nonlinear mean-field interactions is suggested. Furthermore, the influence of the nonlinearity onto the Bloch bands, the breakdown of adiabaticity and the stability of the dynamics is discussed and analysed by numerical results.
It is well known that an electron in a single-band tight-binding lattice coherently driven by an external dc electric field undergoes Bloch oscillations. In the framework of the extended Hubbard model, here it is shown theoretically that two strongly interacting electrons with on-site and nearest-neighbor site repulsion undergo a sequence of Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling, the so-called Bloch-Zener oscillations (BZOs), among different narrow bands formed by bound particle states. Such a kind of BZOs arise because of nearest-neighbor site particle interaction and are thus rather distinct than BZOs observed for a single electron in biperiodic lattices supporting two single-particle minibands.
Bloch–Zener Oscillations In article number 2300101, Zhongkai Huang and co-workers investigate the transient dynamics of Bloch–Zener oscillations in a 1D qubit chain. By analyzing several tight-binding models, most importantly Wannier–Stark ladder and Landau–Zener models, they find that controlling the band gap is crucial to understanding the interplay between Bloch oscillations and Landau–Zener transitions. This work suggests several routes for future study of these phenomena and provides new insight into the behavior of Bloch–Zener oscillations in complex systems.
Stimulated by the experimental realization of spin-dependent tunneling via a gradient magnetic field [C. J. Kennedy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 225301 (2013); M. Aidelsburger et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185301 (2013)], we investigate the dynamics of Bloch oscillations and Landau-Zener tunneling of single spin-half particles in a periodic potential under the influence of a spin-dependent constant force. In analogy to the Wannier-Stark system, we call our system the Wannier-Zeeman system. If there is no coupling between the two spin states, the system can be described by two crossing Wannier-Stark ladders with opposite tilts. The spatial crossing between two Wannier-Stark ladders becomes a spatial anticrossing if the two spin states are coupled by external fields. For a wave packet away from the spatial anticrossing, due to the spin-dependent constant force, it will undergo spatial Landau-Zener transitions assisted by the intrinsic intraband Bloch oscillations, which we call the Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics. If the interspin coupling is sufficiently strong, the system undergoes adiabatic Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics, in which the spin dynamics follows the local dressed states. Otherwise, for nonstrong interspin couplings, the system undergoes nonadiabatic Bloch-Landau-Zener dynamics.