Exploring correlated 1D Bose gases from the superfluid to the Mott-insulator state by inelastic light scattering

TL;DR

This paper uses inelastic light scattering to study the transition of 1D Bose gases from superfluid to Mott-insulator states, revealing new spectral features that characterize strongly correlated phases.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed Bragg spectroscopy analysis of 1D Bose gases across the superfluid to Mott-insulator transition, highlighting novel spectral signatures.

Findings

Spectra show unique features of strongly correlated phases.

Elementary excitations are created with non-zero momentum.

Response remains in the linear regime across the transition.

Abstract

We report the Bragg spectroscopy of interacting one-dimensional Bose gases loaded in optical lattices across the superfluid to Mott-insulator phase transition. Elementary excitations are created with a non-zero momentum and the response of the correlated 1D gases is in the linear regime. The complexity of the strongly correlated quantum phases is directly displayed in the spectra which exhibit novel features. This work paves the way for a precise characterization of the state of correlated atomic phases in optical lattices.