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arXiv:1204.5184 [cond-mat.quant-gas]AbstractReferencesReviewsResources

Use of quantum quenches to probe the equilibrium current patterns of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice

Matthew Killi, Arun Paramekanti

Published 2012-04-23, updated 2012-06-17Version 3

Atomic bosons and fermions in an optical lattice can realize a variety of interesting condensed matter states that support equilibrium current patterns in the presence of synthetic magnetic fields or non-abelian gauge fields. As a route to probing such mass currents, we propose a nonequilibrium quantum quench of the Hamiltonian that dynamically converts the current patterns into experimentally measurable real-space density patterns. We illustrate how a specific such "unidirectional" quench of the optical lattice can be used to uncover checkerboard and stripe current orders in lattice Bose superfluids and Fermi gases, as well as chiral edge currents in an integer quantum Hall state.

Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures, Slightly revised, to appear in Phys. Rev. A (Rapid Communication)
Journal: Phys. Rev. A 85, 061606(R) (2012)
Categories: cond-mat.quant-gas
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