We report a study of the zero-temperature phase diagram of the Bose-Hubbard model on topologically inhomogeneous arrays. We show that the usual Mott-insulator and superfluid domains, in the paradigmatic case of the comb lattice, are separated by regions where the superfluid behavior of the bosonic system is confined along the comb backbone. The existence of such confined superfluidity, arising from topological inhomogeneity, is proved by different analytical and numerical techniques which we extend to the case of inhomogeneous arrays. We also discuss the relevance of our results to real systems exhibiting macroscopic phase coherence, such as coupled Bose condensates and Josephson arrays.
We investigate the static and dynamic properties of bosonic lattice systems in which condensed and Mott insulating phases coexist due to the presence of a spatially varying potential. We formulate a description of these inhomogeneous systems and calculate the bulk energy at and near equilibrium. We derive the explicit form of the Josephson coupling between disjoint superfluid regions separated by Mott insulating regions. We obtain detailed estimates for the case of alternating superfluid and Mott insulating spherical shells in a radially symmetric parabolically confined cold atom system.
We present an extensive study of Mott insulator (MI) and superfluid (SF) shells in Bose-Hubbard (BH) models for bosons in optical lattices with harmonic traps. For this we apply the inhomogeneous mean-field theory developed by Sheshadri et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 4075 (1995)]. Our results for the BH model with one type of spinless bosons agree quantitatively with quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Our approach is numerically less intensive than such simulations, so we are able to perform calculations on experimentally realistic, large three-dimensional systems, explore a wide range of parameter values, and make direct contact with a variety of experimental measurements. We also extend our inhomogeneous mean-field theory to study BH models with harmonic traps and (a) two species of bosons or (b) spin-1 bosons. With two species of bosons, we obtain rich phase diagrams with a variety of SF and MI phases and associated shells when we include a quadratic confining potential. For the spin-1 BH model, we show, in a representative case, that the system can display alternating shells of polar SF and MI phases, and we make interesting predictions for experiments in such systems.
We show that spatial Bose-Einstein condensation of non-interacting bosons occurs in dimension d < 2 over discrete structures with inhomogeneous topology and with no need of external confining potentials. Josephson junction arrays provide a physical realization of this mechanism. The topological origin of the phenomenon may open the way to the engineering of quantum devices based on Bose-Einstein condensation. The comb array, which embodies all the relevant features of this effect, is studied in detail.
We investigate the zero-temperature phase diagram of a gas of bosonic atoms in one- and two-color standing-wave lattices in the framework of the Bose-Hubbard model. We first introduce some relevant physical quantities; superfluid fraction, condensate fraction, quasimomentum distribution, and matter-wave interference pattern. We then discuss the relationships between them on the formal level and show that the superfluid fraction, which is the relevant order parameter for the superfluid to Mott-insulator transition, cannot be probed directly via the matter-wave interference patterns. The formal considerations are supported by exact numerical solutions of the Bose-Hubbard model for uniform one-dimensional systems. We then map out the phase diagram of bosons in nonuniform lattices. The emphasis is on optical two-color superlattices which exhibit a sinusoidal modulation of the well depth and can be easily realized experimentally. From the study of the superfluid fraction, the energy gap, and other quantities, we identify additional zero-temperature phases, including a localized and a quasi-Bose-glass phase, and discuss prospects for their experimental observation.
We study the quantum phase transition between the insulating and the globally coherent superfluid phases in the Bose-Hubbard model with
T3 structure, the ``dice lattice.'' Even in the absence of any frustration the superfluid phase is characterized by modulation of the order parameter on the different sublattices of the
T3 structure. The zero-temperature critical point as a function of magnetic field shows the characteristic ``butterfly'' form. At full frustration the superfluid region is strongly suppressed. In addition, due to the existence of the Aharonov-Bohm cages at
f=1∕2, we find some evidence for the existence of an intermediate insulating phase characterized by a zero superfluid stiffness but finite compressibility. In this intermediate phase bosons are localized due to the external frustration and the topology of the
T3 lattice. We name this new phase the Aharonov-Bohm insulator. In the presence of charge frustration the phase diagram acquires the typical lobe structure. The form and hierarchy of the Mott insulating states with fractional fillings are dictated by the particular topology of the
T3 lattice. The results presented were obtained by a variety of analytical methods: mean-field and variational techniques to approach the phase boundary from the superconducting side and a strongly coupled expansion appropriate for the Mott insulating region. In addition we performed quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the corresponding
(2+1)-dimensional
XY model to corroborate the analytical calculations with a more accurate quantitative analysis. We finally discuss experimental realization of the
T3 lattice both with optical lattices and with Josephson junction arrays.
We investigate the properties of Josephson junction networks with inhomogeneous architecture. The networks are shaped as quare comb planar lattices on which Josephson junctions link superconducting islands arranged in the plane to generate the pertinent topology. Compared to the behavior of reference linear arrays, the temperature dependencies of the Josephson currents of the branches of the network exhibit relevant differences. The observed phenomena evidence new and surprising behavior of superconducting Josephson arrays as well as remarkable similarities with bosonic junction arrays.