Chaotic Ratchet Effect for Bose-Einstein Condensed Atoms in 1D Optical Lattices

The chaotic ratchet effect for Bos-Einstein condensed atoms in an optical lattice is investigated. By using the direct perturbation method we obtain the chaotic solution of the condensed system. Theoretical analysis reveals that the transport of the condensed atoms in the ratchet potential is a chaotic one, and corresponding numerical results agree well with the theoretical results.

Impurity-induced localization of Bose-Einstein condensates in one-dimensional optical lattices

The impurity-induced localization of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates loaded into deep one-dimensional optical lattices is studied both analytically and numerically. It is shown that, the analytical criteria for self-trapping and moving soliton/breather of the primary-component condensate are modified significantly by an admixture of an impurity component （the second component）. The realization of the self-trapped state and the moving soliton/breather states of the primary-component becomes more easy with the minor admixture of the impurity-component, even if the two components are partly overlapped.

Controllable optical multi-well trap and its optical lattices using compounded cosine patterns

This paper proposes a flexible scheme to form various optical multi-well traps for cold atoms or molecules by using a simple optical system composed of an compounded amplitude cosine-only grating and a single lens illuminated by a plane light wave or a Gaussian beam. Dynamic manipulation and evolution of multi-well trap can be easily implemented by controlling the modulation frequency of the cosine patterns. It also discusses how to expand this multi-well trap to two-dimensional lattices with single- or multi-well trap by using an orthogonally or non-orthogonally modulated grating, as well as using incoherent multi-beam illumination, and these results show that all the symmetric structures of two-dimensional Bravais lattices can be obtained facilely by using proposed scheme.

Dynamics of Airy beams in parity–time symmetric optical lattices

We investigate the dynamics of airy beams propagating in the parity–time(PT) symmetric optical lattices in linear and nonlinear regimes, respectively. For the linear propagation, the position of the channel guided by the PT lattice can be shifted by tuning the lattice frequency. The underlying physical mechanism of this phenomenon is also discussed. An interesting phenomenon is found in the nonlinear regime in that the airy beam becomes a tilt channel with several Rayleigh lengths. These findings create new opportunities for optical steering and manipulations.

Tunable ground-state solitons in spin–orbit coupling Bose–Einstein condensates in the presence of optical lattices

Properties of the ground-state solitons, which exist in the spin-orbit coupling （SOC） Bose-Einstein condensates （BEC） in the presence of optical lattices, are presented. Results show that several system parameters, such as SOC strength, lattice depth, and lattice frequency, have important influences on properties of ground state solitons in SOC BEC. By controlling these parameters, structure and spin polarization of the ground-state solitons can be effectively tuned, so ma- nipulation of atoms may be realized.

Effect of interaction strength on gap solitons of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices

We have developed a systematic analytical approach to the study on the dynamic properties of the linear and the nonlinear excitations for quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in optical lattices. A novel linear dispersion relation and an algebraic soliton solution of the condensate are derived analytically under consideration of Bose-Einstein condensate with a periodic potential. By analysing the soliton solution, we find that the interatomic interaction strength has an important effect on soliton dynamic properties of Bose-Einstein condensate.

Transverse Localization of Light in 1D Self-Focusing Parity-Time-Symmetric Optical Lattices

Transverse localization of light is investigated numerically in a serf-focusing Kerr medium with a complex-valued optical lattice featuring parity-time symmetry. It is demonstrated that the light localization exists below the threshold of the spatial frequency of the lattices, and is further enhanced with the decrease of the spatial frequency. The influence of defects on the transverse localization is also discussed in detail. The results show that both positive and negative defects in such a medium would enhance the localization.

Bifurcated overtones of one-way localized Fabry-Pérot resonances in parity-time symmetric optical lattices

Since the first observation of parity-time（PT） symmetry in optics, varied interesting phenomena have been discovered in both theories and experiments, such as PT phase transition and unidirectional invisibility, which turns PT-symmetric optics into a hotspot in research. Here, we report on the one-way localized Fabry-Pérot（FP） resonance, where a welldesigned PT optical resonator may operate at exceptional points with bidirectional transparency but unidirectional field localization. Overtones of such one-way localized FP resonance can be classified into a blue shifted branch and a red shifted branch. Therefore, the fundamental resonant frequency is not the lowest one. We find that the spatial field distributions of the overtones at the same absolute order are almost the same, even though their frequencies are quite different.

Experiments on trapping ytterbium atoms in optical lattices

Experiments on trapping ytterbium atoms in various optical lattices are presented. After the two-stage cooling, first in a blue magneto-optical trap and then in a green magneto-optical trap, the ultracold 171 Yb atoms are successfully loaded into one-, two-, and three-dimensional optical lattices operating at the Stark-free wavelength, respectively. The temperature, number, and lifetime of cold 171 Yb atoms in one-dimensional lattice are measured. After optimization, the one-dimensional lattice with cold 171Yb atoms is used for developing an ytterbium optical clock.

Energy Spectrum of Ground State and Excitation Spectrum of Quasi-particle for Hard-Core Boson in Optical Lattices

We investigate the energy spectrum of ground state and quasi-particle excitation spectrum of hard-core bosons, which behave very much like spinless noninteracting ferrnions, in optical lattices by means of the perturbation expansion and Bogoliubov approach. The results show that the energy spectrum has a single band structure, and the energy is lower near zero momentum; the excitation spectrum gives corresponding energy gap, and the system is in Mort-insulating state at Tonks limit. The analytic result of energy spectrum is in good agreement with that calculated in terms of Green＇s function at strong correlation limit.

Light-Induced Hofstadter's Butterfly Spectrum in Optical Lattices

We propose a scheme to create an effective magnetic field, which can be perceived by cold neutral atoms in a two-dimensional optical lattice, with a laser field with a space-dependent phase and a conventional laser field acting on A-type three-level atoms. When the dimensionless parameter a, being the ratio of flux through a lattice cell to one flux quantum, is rational, the energy spectrum shows a fractal band structure, which is so-called Hofstadter＇s butterfly.

Properties of Controllable Soliton Switching in Optical Lattices with Longitudinal Exponential-Asymptotic Modulation

The properties of controllable soliton switching in Kerr-type optical lattices with different modulation are investigated theoretically and simulated numerically.The results show that the optical lattices can be available for all- optical soliton switching through utilization for length-scale competition effects.And through longitudinal exponential- asymptotic modulation for the linear refractive index,the properties of soliton switching in the optical lattices can be improved.The number of output channels of soliton switching can be controlled by the parameters such as incident angle,asymptotic rate of longitudinal modulation,guiding parameter and form factor.

Landau-Zener Tunnelling of Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates in Optical Lattices

We investigate the Landau-Zener tunnelling of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates （BECs） in optical lattices. In the neighborhood of the Brillouin zone edge, the system can be reduced to two coupled nonlinear two-level models. From the models, we calculate the change of the tunnelling probability for each component with the linear sweeping rate. It is found that the probability for each component exhibits regular oscillating behavior for the larger sweeping rate, but for smaller rate the oscillation is irregular. Moreover, the asymmetry of the tunnelling between the two components can be induced by the unbalanced initial populations or the inequality of the two self-interactions when the cross-interaction between the components exists. The result can not be found in the single component BECs.

Spin Accumulation of Spinor Atoms in Optical Lattices

We obtain an effective spin correlation Hamiltonian describing the interaction of light with a two-level atom, then we investigate the classical trajectory of the two-level atom system by numerical integration of the Heisenberg equation of motion. Our results show that the spin accumulation is a very popular phenomenon as long as the spin character cannot be ignored in the Hamiltonian. We propose experimental protocol to observe this new phenomenon in further experiments.

The effect of s-wave scattering length on self-trapping and tunneling phenomena of Fermi gases in one-dimensional accelerating optical lattices

We investigate the tunneling dynamics of the Fermi gases in an optical lattice in the Bose--Einstein condensation （BEC） regime. The three critical scattering lengths and the system energies are found in different cases of Josephson oscillation （JO）, oscillating-phase-type self-trapping （OPTST）, running-phase-type self-trapping （RPTST）, and self-trapping （ST）. It is found that the s-wave scattering lengths have a crucial role on the tunneling dynamics. By adjusting the scattering length in the adiabatic condition, the transition probability changes with the adiabatic periodicity and a rectangular periodic pattern emerges. The periodicity of the rectangular wave depends on the system parameters such as the periodicity of the adjustable parameter, the s-wave scattering length.

Energy Spectrum of Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates in Optical Lattices

With the method of Green's function, we investigate the energy spectra of two-component ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices. We End that there are two energy bands for each component. The critical condition of the superfluid-Mott insulator phase transition is determined by the energy band structure. We also find that the nearest neighboring and on-site interactions fail to change the structure of energy bands, but shift the energy bands only. According to the conditions of the phase transitions, three stable superfluid and Mott insulating phases can be found by adjusting the experiment parameters. We also discuss the possibility of observing these new phases and their transitions in further experiments.

Stability of Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates in Bessel Optical Lattices

The stability of the ground state of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates （BEGs） loaded into the central well of an axially symmetric Bessel lattices （BLs） potential with attractive or repulsive atoms interactions is studied using the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation （GPE）. By using the variational method, we find that stable ground state of two-component BEGs can exist in BLs. The BLs＇s depth and the intra-species atom interaction play an important role in the stability of ground state. The collapse of two-component BEGs in BLs is also studied and a collapse condition for trapped two-component BEGs is obtained. It is shown that the two-component BEGs exhibit rich collapse dynamics. That is, the two-component BEGs can collapse in the system with both intra- and inter-attractive, or with intra-attractive and inter-repulsive, or with intra-repulsive and inter-attractive atom interactions. Furthermore, the control of the collapse of the two-component BEGs in BLs is discussed in detail. The stability diagram of the ground state in parameter space is obtained. The results show that the collapse of two-component BEGs can be controlled by temporal modulation of the atom interaction.

Graphene-like physics in optical lattices

Graphene has attracted enormous attention over the past years in condensed matter physics. The most interesting feature of graphene is that its low-energy excitations are relativistic Dirac fermions. Such feature is the origin of many topological properties in graphene-like physics. On the other hand, ultracold quantum gas trapped in an optical lattice has become a unique setting for quantum simulation of condensed matter physics. Here, we mainly review our recent work on quantum simulation of graphene-like physics with ultracold atoms trapped in a honeycomb or square optical lattice, including the simulation of Dirac fermions and quantum Hall effect with and without Landau levels. We also present the related experimental advances.

Quench dynamics of ultracold atoms in one-dimensional optical lattices with artificial gauge fields

We study the quench dynamics of noninteracting ultracold atoms loaded in one-dimensional （1D） optical lattices with artificial gauge fields, which are modeled by lattices with complex hopping coefficients. After suddenly changing the hopping coefficient, time evolutions of the density distribution, momentum distribution, and mass current at the center are studied for both finite uniform systems and trapped systems. Effects of filling factor, system size, statistics, harmonic trap, and phase difference in hopping are identified, and some interesting phenomena show up. For example, for a finite uniform fermionic system shock and rarefaction wave plateaus are formed at two ends, whose wave fronts move linearly with speed equaling to the maximal absolute group velocity. While for a finite uniform bosonic system the whole density distribution moves linearly at the group velocity. Only in a finite uniform fermionic system there can be a constant quasi- steady-state current, whose amplitude is decided by the phase difference and filling factor. The quench dynamics can be tested in ultracold atoms with minimal modifications of available experimental techniques, and it is a very interesting and fundamental example of the transport phenomena and the nonequilibrium dynamics.

Beam evolutions of solitons in strongly nonlocal media with fading optical lattices

We address the impact of imprinted fading optical lattices on the beam evolution of solitons in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media. The results show that the width of the soliton experiences a change with the increasing propagation distance, the critical power for the soliton varies with the lattice fading away, and the soliton breathing is affected by the initial lattice depth and the nonlocality degree.