Surface defect gap solitons in two-dimensional optical lattices

We investigate the existence and stability of surface defect gap solitons at an interface between a defect in a two-dimensional optical lattice and a uniform saturable Kerr nonlinear medium. The surface defect embedded in the two-dimensional optical lattice gives rise to some unique properties. It is interestingly found that for the negative defect, stable surface defect gap solitons can exist both in the semi-infinite gap and in the first gap. The deeper the negative defect, the narrower the stable region in the semi-infinite gap will be. For a positive defect, the surface defect gap solitons exist only in the semi-infinite gap and the stable region localizes in a low power region.

A Yb optical clock with a lattice power enhancement cavity

We construct a power enhancement cavity to form an optical lattice in an ytterbium optical clock.It is demonstrated that the intra-cavity lattice power can be increased by about 45 times,and the trap depth can be as large as 1400Er when laser light with a power of only 0.6 W incident to the lattice cavity.Such high trap depths are the key to accurate evaluation of the lattice-induced light shift with an uncertainty down to~1×10-18.By probing the ytterbium atoms trapped in the power-enhanced optical lattice,we obtain a 4.3 Hz-linewidth Rabi spectrum,which is then used to feedback to the clock laser for the close loop operation of the optical lattice clock.We evaluate the density shift of the Yb optical lattice clock based on interleaving measurements,which is-0.46(62)mHz.This result is smaller compared to the density shift of our first Yb optical clock without lattice power enhancement cavity mainly due to a larger lattice diameter of 344μm.

Quantum droplets in two-dimensional optical lattices

We study the stability of zero-vorticity and vortex lattice quantum droplets(LQDs),which are de-scribed by a two-dimensional(2D)Gross-Pitaevskii(GP)equation with a periodic potential and Lee-Huang-Yang(LHY)term.The LQDs are divided in two types:onsite-centered and offsite-centered LQDs,the centers of which are located at the minimum and the maximum of the potential,respec-tively.The stability areas of these two types of LQDs with diferent number of sites for zero-vorticity and vorticity with S=1 are given.We found that the μ-N relationship of the stable LQDs with a fixed number of sites can violate the Vakhitov-Kolokolov(VK)criterion,which is a necessary stability condition for nonlinear modes with an attractive interaction.Moreover,the μ-N relationship shows that two types of vortex LQDs with the same number of sites are degenerated,while the zero-vorticity LQDs are not degenerated.It is worth mentioning that the offsite-centered LQDs with zero-vorticity and vortex LQDs with S=1 are heterogeneous.

Waveguide-integrated optical modulators with two-dimensional materials

Waveguide-integrated optical modulators are indispensable for on-chip optical interconnects and optical computing.To cope with the ever-increasing amount of data being generated and consumed,ultrafast waveguide-integrated optical modulators with low energy consumption are highly demanded.In recent years,two-dimensional(2D)materials have attracted a lot of attention and have provided tremendous opportunities for the development of high-performance waveguide-integrated optical modulators because of their extraordinary optoelectronic properties and versatile compatibility.This paper reviews the state-of-the-art waveguide-integrated optical modulators with 2D materials,providing researchers with the developing trends in the field and allowing them to identify existing challenges and promising potential solutions.First,the concept and fundamental mechanisms of optical modulation with 2D materials are summarized.Second,a review of waveguide-integrated optical modulators employing electro-optic,all-optic,and thermo-optic effects is provided.Finally,the challenges and perspectives of waveguide-integrated modulators with 2D materials are discussed.

Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov states in equally populated Fermi gases in a two-dimensional moving optical lattice

We study the possibility of stabilizing a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov(FFLO)state in an equally populated two-component Fermi gas trapped in a moving two-dimensional optical lattice.For a system with nearly half filling,we find that a finite pairing momentum perpendicular to the moving direction can be spontaneously induced for a proper choice of lattice velocity.As a result,the total pairing momentum is tilted towards the nesting vector to take advantage of the significant enhancement of the density of states.

First‑principles study on electronic structure,optical and magnetic properties of rare earth elements X(X=Sc,Y,La,Ce,Eu)doped with two‑dimensional GaSe

The electronic structure,magnetic,and optical properties of two-dimensional(2D)GaSe doped with rare earth elements X(X=Sc,Y,La,Ce,Eu)were calculated using the first-principles plane wave method based on den-sity functional theory.The results show that intrinsic 2D GaSe is a p-type nonmagnetic semiconductor with an indi-rect bandgap of 2.6611 eV.The spin-up and spin-down channels of Sc-,Y-,and La-doped 2D GaSe are symmetric,they are non-magnetic semiconductors.The magnetic moments of Ce-and Eu-doped 2D GaSe are 0.908μ_(B)and 7.163μ_(B),which are magnetic semiconductors.Impurity energy levels appear in both spin-up and spin-down chan-nels of Eu-doped 2D GaSe,which enhances the probability of electron transition.Compared with intrinsic 2D GaSe,the static dielectric constant of the doped 2D GaSe increases,and the polarization ability is strengthened.The ab-sorption spectrum of the doped 2D GaSe shifts in the low-energy direction,and the red-shift phenomenon occurs,which extends the absorption spectral range.The optical reflection coefficient of the doped 2D GaSe is improved in the low energy region,and the improvement of Eu-doped 2D GaSe is the most obvious.

A proposal for detecting weak electromagnetic waves around 2.6μm wavelength with Sr optical clock

Infrared signal detection is widely used in many fields.Due to the detection principle,however,the accuracy and range of detection are limited.Thanks to the ultra stability of the^(87)Sr optical lattice clock,external infrared electromagnetic wave disturbances can be responded to.Utilizing the ac Stark shift of the clock transition,we propose a new method to detect infrared signals.According to our calculations,the theoretical detection accuracy in the vicinity of its resonance band of 2.6μm can reach the order of 10-14W,while the minimum detectable signal of common detectors is on the order of 10^(-10)W.

Theoretical calculations on Landé g-factors and quadratic Zeeman shift coefficients of nsnp ^(3)P_(0)^(o) clock states in Mg and Cd optical lattice clocks

The study of magnetic field effects on the clock transition of Mg and Cd optical lattice clocks is scarce.In this work,the hyperfine-induced Landég-factors and quadratic Zeeman shift coefficients of the nsnp ^(3)P_(0)^(o) clock states for ^(111,113)Cd and ^(25)Mg were calculated by using the multi-configuration Dirac–Hartree–Fock theory.To obtain accurate values of these parameters,the impact of electron correlations and furthermore the Breit interaction and quantum electrodynamical effects on the Zeeman and hyperfine interaction matrix elements,and energy separations were investigated in detail.We also estimated the contributions from perturbing states to the Landég-factors and quadratic Zeeman shift coefficients concerned so as to truncate the summation over the perturbing states without loss of accuracy.Our calculations provide important data for estimating the first-and second-order Zeeman shifts of the clock transition for the Cd and Mg optical lattice clocks.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dynamical properties of ultracold Bose atomic gases in one-dimensional optical lattices created by two schemes

An optical lattice could be produced either by splitting an input light(splitting scheme) or by reflecting the input light by a mirror(retro-reflected scheme).We study quantum dynamical properties of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate(BEC) in the two schemes.Adopting a mean field theory and neglecting collision interactions between atoms, we find that the momentum and spatial distributions of BEC are always symmetric in the splitting scheme which, however, are asymmetric in the retro-reflected scheme.The reason for this difference is due to the local field effect.Furthermore, we propose an effective method to avoid asymmetric diffraction.

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.

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.

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.

Energy band structure in optical of spin-1 condensates lattices

The energy band structure of spin-1 condensates with repulsive spimindependent and either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic spin-dependent interactions in one-dimensional （1D） periodic optical lattices is discussed. Within the two-mode approximation, Bloch bands of spin-1 condensates are presented. The results show that the Bloch bands exhibit a complex structure as the atom density of mF = 0 hyperfine state increases： bands splitting, reversion, intersection and loop structure are excited subsequently. The complex band structure should be related to the tunneling and spin-mixing dynamics.