Dynamic Optical Lattices of Subwavelength Spacing for Ultracold Atoms

Sylvain Nascimbene, Nathan Goldman, Nigel R. Cooper, and Jean Dalibard
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 140401 – Published 2 October 2015
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Abstract

We propose a scheme for realizing lattice potentials of subwavelength spacing for ultracold atoms. It is based on spin-dependent optical lattices with a time-periodic modulation. We show that the atomic motion is well described by the combined action of an effective, time-independent lattice of small spacing, together with a micromotion associated with the time modulation. A numerical simulation shows that an atomic gas can be adiabatically loaded into the effective lattice ground state, for time scales comparable to the ones required for adiabatic loading of standard optical lattices. We generalize our scheme to a two-dimensional geometry, leading to Bloch bands with nonzero Chern numbers. The realization of lattices of subwavelength spacing allows for the enhancement of energy scales, which could facilitate the achievement of strongly correlated (topological) states.

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  • Received 1 June 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.140401

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Sylvain Nascimbene1,*, Nathan Goldman1,2, Nigel R. Cooper3, and Jean Dalibard1

  • 1Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Collège de France, ENS-PSL Research University, CNRS, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France
  • 2CENOLI, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
  • 3T.C.M. Group, Cavendish Laboratory, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom

  • *sylvain.nascimbene@lkb.ens.fr

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Issue

Vol. 115, Iss. 14 — 2 October 2015

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