Entanglement and the Mott transition in a rotating bosonic ring lattice

Ana Maria Rey, Keith Burnett, Indubala I. Satija, and Charles W. Clark
Phys. Rev. A 75, 063616 – Published 18 June 2007

Abstract

We use second- and fourth-order correlation functions accessible in time-of-flight images to investigate the effects of rotation on one-dimensional ultracold bosons confined to a ring lattice. There exists a critical rotation frequency at which the ground state of a weakly interacting and integer-filled atomic gas is fragmented into a macroscopic superposition of two states with different circulation. The formation of such a quantum superposition (“cat”) state is accompanied by the opening of a gap in the spectrum, and by a sudden rearrangement of the momentum distribution which lowers the threshold of the Mott insulator transition. We show that both the entangled character of the ground state and the enhancement of quantum correlations can be detected in the density-density correlations of the expanding cloud. Our studies demonstrate the usefulness of these correlations for identifying physics in cold atomic systems.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
2 More
  • Received 13 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.063616

Authors & Affiliations

Ana Maria Rey1,*, Keith Burnett2, Indubala I. Satija3,4, and Charles W. Clark3

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 2Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
  • 3National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA

  • *Electronic address: arey@cfa.harvard.edu

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 75, Iss. 6 — June 2007

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review A

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×