Bose-Einstein Condensates in Superlattices

We consider the Gross--Pitaevskii (GP) equation in the presence of periodic and quasi-periodic superlattices to study cigar-shaped Bose--Einstein condensates (BECs) in such potentials. We examine spatially extended wavefunctions in the form of modulated amplitude waves (MAWs). With a coherent structure ansatz, we derive amplitude equations describing the evolution of spatially modulated states of the BEC. We then apply second-order multiple scale perturbation theory to study harmonic resonances with respect to a single lattice substructure as well as ultrasubharmonic resonances that result from interactions of both substructures of the superlattice. In each case, we determine the resulting system's equilibria, which represent spatially periodic solutions, and subsequently examine the stability of the corresponding wavefunctions by direct simulations of the GP equation, identifying them as typically stable solutions of the model. We then study subharmonic resonances using Hamiltonian perturbation theory, tracing robust spatio-temporally periodic patterns

Strong correlations in quantum vortex nucleation of ultracold atomic gases

We review some recent developments in the theory of rotating atomic gases. These studies have thrown light on the process of nucleation of vortices in regimes where mean-field methods are inadequate. In our review we shall describe and compare quantum vortex nucleation of a dilute ultracold bosonic gas trapped in three different configurations: a one-dimensional ring lattice, a one-dimensional ring superlattice and a two-dimensional asymmetric harmonic trap. In all of them there is a critical rotation frequency, at which the particles in the ground state exhibit strong quantum correlations. However, the entanglement properties vary significantly from case to case. We explain these differences by characterizing the intermediate states that participate in the vortex nucleation process. Finally, we show that noise correlations are sensitive to these differences. These new studies have, therefore, shown how novel quantum states may be produced and probed in future experiments with rotating neutral atom systems.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Quasiperiodic Dynamics in Bose-Einstein Condensates in Periodic Lattices and Superlattices

We employ KAM theory to rigorously investigate quasiperiodic dynamics in cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in periodic lattices and superlattices. Toward this end, we apply a coherent structure ansatz to the Gross-Pitaevskii equation to obtain a parametrically forced Duffing equation describing the spatial dynamics of the condensate. For shallow-well, intermediate-well, and deep-well potentials, we find KAM tori and Aubry-Mather sets to prove that one obtains mostly quasiperiodic dynamics for condensate wave functions of sufficiently large amplitude, where the minimal amplitude depends on the experimentally adjustable BEC parameters. We show that this threshold scales with the square root of the inverse of the two-body scattering length, whereas the rotation number of tori above this threshold is proportional to the amplitude. As a consequence, one obtains the same dynamical picture for lattices of all depths, as an increase in depth essentially only affects scaling in phase space. Our approach is applicable to periodic superlattices with an arbitrary number of rationally dependent wave numbers.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures (several with multiple parts; higher-quality versions of some of them available at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~mason/papers), to appear very soon in Journal of Nonlinear Scienc

Modulated amplitude waves with nonzero phases in Bose-Einstein condensates

In this paper we give a frame for application of the averaging method to Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and obtain an abstract result upon the dynamics of BECs. Using aver- aging method, we determine the location where the modulated amplitude waves (periodic or quasi-periodic) exist and we also study the stability and instability of modulated amplitude waves (periodic or quasi-periodic). Compared with the previous work, modulated amplitude waves studied in this paper have nontrivial phases and this makes the problem become more diffcult, since it involves some singularities.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Tunneling of ultracold atoms in time-independent potentials

We present theoretical as well as experimental results on resonantly enhanced quantum tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices both in the linear case of single particle dynamics and in the presence of atom-atom interactions. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of condensates in optical lattices for the dynamical control of tunneling and for simulating Hamiltonians originally used for describing solid state phenomena.Comment: slightly amended version published as ch. 11 of a book edited by S. Keshavamurthy and P. Schlagheck with the title "Dynamical Tunneling: Theory and Experiment

Spin-Orbit Coupling and Spin Textures in Optical Superlattices

We proposed and demonstrated a new approach for realizing spin orbit coupling with ultracold atoms. We use orbital levels in a double well potential as pseudospin states. Two-photon Raman transitions between left and right wells induce spin-orbit coupling. This scheme does not require near resonant light, features adjustable interactions by shaping the double well potential, and does not depend on special properties of the atoms. A pseudospinor Bose-Einstein condensate spontaneously acquires an antiferromagnetic pseudospin texture which breaks the lattice symmetry similar to a supersolid

Quantum walk of a Bose-Einstein condensate in the Brillouin zone

We propose a realistic scheme to implement discrete-time quantum walks in the Brillouin zone (i.e., in quasimomentum space) with a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. Relying on a static optical lattice to suppress tunneling in real space, the condensate is displaced in quasimomentum space in discrete steps conditioned upon the internal state of the atoms, while short pulses periodically couple the internal states. We show that tunable twisted boundary conditions can be implemented in a fully natural way by exploiting the periodicity of the Brillouin zone. The proposed setup does not suffer from off-resonant scattering of photons and could allow a robust implementation of quantum walks with several tens of steps at least. In addition, onsite atom-atom interactions can be used to simulate interactions with infinitely long range in the Brillouin zone.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; in the new version, added a discussion about decoherence in the appendi

Nonlinear Phenomena of Ultracold Atomic Gases in Optical Lattices: Emergence of Novel Features in Extended States

The system of a cold atomic gas in an optical lattice is governed by two factors: nonlinearity originating from the interparticle interaction, and the periodicity of the system set by the lattice. The high level of controllability associated with such an arrangement allows for the study of the competition and interplay between these two, and gives rise to a whole range of interesting and rich nonlinear effects. This review covers the basic idea and overview of such nonlinear phenomena, especially those corresponding to extended states. This includes "swallowtail" loop structures of the energy band, Bloch states with multiple periodicity, and those in "nonlinear lattices", i.e., systems with the nonlinear interaction term itself being a periodic function in space.Comment: 39 pages, 21 figures; review article to be published in a Special Issue of Entropy on "Non-Linear Lattice