Macroscopic superposition states in rotating ring lattices

TL;DR

This paper explores how rotation induces macroscopic superposition states in ultracold bosons within optical ring lattices, highlighting the effects of rotation frequency, lattice uniformity, and methods to detect quantum states.

Contribution

It identifies a critical rotation frequency for creating superpositions, discusses benefits of non-uniform lattices, and proposes experimental techniques for state detection.

Findings

Existence of a critical rotation frequency for superposition formation

Advantages of using slightly non-uniform ring lattices

Proposed methods to distinguish quasi-momentum states and probe correlations

Abstract

We investigate the effects of rotation on one-dimensional ultracold bosons confined to optical ring lattices. First, we show that there exists a critical rotation frequency at which the ground state of a weakly-interacting and integer-filled atomic gas is fragmented into a macroscopic superposition state with different circulation. Second, we point out several advantages of using slightly non-uniform ring lattices. Finally, we demonstrate that different quasi-momentum states can be distinguished in time-of-flight absorption imaging and propose to probe correlations via the many-body oscillations induced by a sudden change in the rotation frequency.