Atom-optics simulator of lattice transport phenomena

TL;DR

This paper presents an experimental scheme using ultracold atoms to simulate lattice transport phenomena, offering precise control over system parameters and site-resolved detection, enabling advanced studies of complex quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel atom-optics approach for simulating lattice transport with full control over tunneling and site energies, advancing quantum simulation capabilities.

Findings

Demonstrated control over tunneling amplitude and phase

Observed continuous-time quantum walks and Bloch oscillations

Enabled studies of disordered and topological systems

Abstract

We experimentally investigate a scheme for studying lattice transport phenomena, based on the controlled momentum-space dynamics of ultracold atomic matter waves. In the effective tight-binding models that can be simulated, we demonstrate that this technique allows for a local and time-dependent control over all system parameters, and additionally allows for single-site resolved detection of atomic populations. We demonstrate full control over site-to-site off-diagonal tunneling elements (amplitude and phase) and diagonal site-energies, through the observation of continuous-time quantum walks, Bloch oscillations, and negative tunneling. These capabilities open up new prospects in the experimental study of disordered and topological systems.