Precision measurements on a tunable Mott insulator of ultracold atoms

We perform precision measurements on a Mott-insulator quantum state of ultracold atoms with tunable interactions. We probe the dependence of the superfluid-to-Mott-insulator transition on the interaction strength and explore the limits of the standard Bose-Hubbard model description. By tuning the on...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 107; no. 17; p. 175301
Main Authors Mark, M J, Haller, E, Lauber, K, Danzl, J G, Daley, A J, Nägerl, H-C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 18.10.2011
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:We perform precision measurements on a Mott-insulator quantum state of ultracold atoms with tunable interactions. We probe the dependence of the superfluid-to-Mott-insulator transition on the interaction strength and explore the limits of the standard Bose-Hubbard model description. By tuning the on-site interaction energies to values comparable to the interband separation, we are able to quantitatively measure number-dependent shifts in the excitation spectrum caused by effective multibody interactions.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.107.175301