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arXiv:cond-mat/0512553 · Physical Review Letters

Dissipation-Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Driven Optical Lattice

Ralf Gommers, S. Bergamini, Ferruccio Renzoni

Published Aug 12, 2005• 129 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We analyze the atomic dynamics in an ac driven periodic optical potential which is symmetric in both time and space. We experimentally demonstrate that in the presence of dissipation the symmetry is broken, and a current of atoms through the optical lattice is generated as a result.
DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.95.073003

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We demonstrate the phenomenon of directed diffusion in a symmetric periodic potential. This has been realized with cold atoms in a one-dimensional dissipative optical lattice. The stochastic process of optical pumping leads to a diffusive dynamics of the atoms through the periodic structure, while a zero-mean force which breaks the temporal symmetry of the system is applied by phase modulating one of the lattice beams. The atoms are set into directed motion as a result of the breaking of the temporal symmetry of the system.
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Quantum decay in an ac driven biased periodic potential modeling cold atoms in optical lattices is studied for a symmetry broken driving. For the case of fully chaotic classical dynamics the classical exponential decay is quantum mechanically suppressed for a driving frequency ωin resonance with the Bloch frequency ω_B, qω=rω_B with integers q and r. Asymptotically an algebraic decay ~t^{-γ} is observed. For r=1 the exponent γagrees with qqq as predicted by non-Hermitian random matrix theory for q decay channels. The time dependence of the survival probability can be well described by random matrix theory. The frequency dependence of the survival probability shows pronounced resonance peaks with sub-Fourier character.