Revealing Superfluid--Mott-Insulator Transition in an Optical Lattice

We study (by an exact numerical scheme) the single-particle density matrix of $\sim 10^3$ ultracold atoms in an optical lattice with a parabolic confining potential. Our simulation is directly relevant to the interpretation and further development of the recent pioneering experiment by Greiner et al. In particular, we show that restructuring of the spatial distribution of the superfluid component when a domain of Mott-insulator phase appears in the system, results in a fine structure of the particle momentum distribution. This feature may be used to locate the point of the superfluid--Mott-insulator transition.Comment: 4 pages (12 figures), Latex. (A Latex macro is corrected

Superglass Phase of Helium-four

We study different solid phases of Helium-four, by means of Path Integral Monte Carlo simulations based on a recently developed "worm" algorithm. Our study includes simulations that start off from a high-T gas phase, which is then "quenched" down to T=0.2 K. The low-T properties of the system crucially depend on the initial state. While an ideal hcp crystal is a clear-cut insulator, the disordered system freezes into a "superglass", i.e., a metastable amorphous solid featuring off-diagonal long-range order and superfluidity

Commensurate Two-Component Bosons in Optical Lattice: Groundstate Phase Diagram

Two sorts of bosons in an optical lattice at commensurate filling factors can form five stable superfluid and insulating groundstates with rich and non-trivial phase diagram. The structure of the groundstate diagram is established by mapping $d$-dimensional quantum system onto a $(d+1)$-dimensional classical loop-current model and Monte Carlo simulations of the latter. Surprisingly, the quantum phase diagram features, besides second-order lines, a first-order transition and two multi-critical points. We explain why first-order transitions are generic for models with paring interactions using microscopic and mean-field arguments.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, 3 ps-figures; replaced with revised version accepted by PRL: results of the MC simulations in 4D are briefly discusse

Linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of a decoherent two-level system

The linear and nonlinear dynamical susceptibilities of a two level system are calculated as it undergoes a transition to a decoherent state. Analogously to the Glover-Tinkham-Ferrell sum rule of superconductivity, spectral weight in the linear susceptibility is continuously transferred from a finite frequency resonance to nearly zero frequency, corresponding to a broken symmetry in the thermodynamic limit. For this reason, the behavior of the present model (the Mermin model) differs significantly from the spin-boson model. The third order nonlinear susceptibility, corresponding to two-photon absorption, has an unexpected non-monotonic behavior as a function of the environmental coupling, reaching a maximum within the decoherent phase of the model. Both linear and nonlinear susceptibilities may be expressed in a universal form.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Suppression of Quantum Phase Interference in Molecular Magnets Fe₈ with Dipolar-Dipolar Interaction

Renormalized tunnel splitting with a finite distribution in the biaxial spin model for molecular magnets is obtained by taking into account the dipolar interaction of enviromental spins. Oscillation of the resonant tunnel splitting with a transverse magnetic field along the hard axis is smeared by the finite distribution which subsequently affects the quantum steps of hysteresis curve evaluated in terms of the modified Landau-Zener model of spin flipping induced by the sweeping field. We conclude that the dipolar-dipolar interaction drives decoherence of quantum tunnelling in molcular magnets Fe₈, which explains why the quenching points of tunnel spliting between odd and even resonant tunnelling predcited theoretically were not observed experimentally.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figure and 1 table. To appear in Physical Review

Worm Algorithm for Continuous-space Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations

We present a new approach to path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations based on the worm algorithm, originally developed for lattice models and extended here to continuous-space many-body systems. The scheme allows for efficient computation of thermodynamic properties, including winding numbers and off-diagonal correlations, for systems of much greater size than that accessible to conventional PIMC. As an illustrative application of the method, we simulate the superfluid transition of Helium-four in two dimensions.Comment: Fig. 2 differs from that of published version (includes data for larger system sizes

The Stochastic Green Function (SGF) algorithm

We present the Stochastic Green Function (SGF) algorithm designed for bosons on lattices. This new quantum Monte Carlo algorithm is independent of the dimension of the system, works in continuous imaginary time, and is exact (no error beyond statistical errors). Hamiltonians with several species of bosons (and one-dimensional Bose-Fermi Hamiltonians) can be easily simulated. Some important features of the algorithm are that it works in the canonical ensemble and gives access to n-body Green functions.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Quantum spin chains in a magnetic field

We demonstrate that the ``worm'' algorithm allows very effective and precise quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations of spin systems in a magnetic field, and its auto-correlation time is rather insensitive to the value of H at low temperature. Magnetization curves for the $s=1/2$ and $s=1$ chains are presented and compared with existing Bethe ansatz and exact diagonalization results. From the Green function analysis we deduce the magnon spectra in the s=1 system, and directly establish the "relativistic" form E(p)=(\Delta ^2 +v^2 p^2)^{1/2} of the dispersion law.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; removed discussion of spin-2 case - will be published later in a separate pape

High Precision Measurement of the Thermal Exponent for the Three-Dimensional XY Universality Class

Simulations results are reported for critical point of the two-component $\phi^4$ field theory. The correlation length exponent is measured to high precision with the result $\nu=0.6717(3)$. This value is in agreement with recent simulation results [Campostrini \textit{et al}., Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63}, 214503 (2001)], and marginally agrees with the most recent space-based measurements of the superfluid transition in $^4$He [Lipa \textit{et al}., Phys. Rev. B \textbf{68}, 174518 (2003)].Comment: a reference adde

Fermi-Polaron: Diagrammatic Monte Carlo for Divergent Sign-Alternating Series

Diagrammatic Monte Carlo approach is applied to a problem of a single spin-down fermion resonantly interacting with the sea of ideal spin-up fermions. On one hand, we develop a generic, sign-problem tolerant, method of exact numerical solution of polaron-type models. On the other hand, our solution is important for understanding the phase diagram and properties of the BCS-BEC crossover in the strongly imbalanced regime. This is the first, and possibly characteristic, example of how the Monte Carlo approach can be applied to a divergent sign-alternating diagrammatic series.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure