Topological phase transitions in tilted optical lattices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how applying a tilt to a brick-wall optical lattice causes topological phase transitions, which can be experimentally observed through Bloch oscillations of cold atoms.

Contribution

It introduces a method to detect topological phase transitions in tilted optical lattices via observable Bloch oscillations.

Findings

Topological phase transitions occur with lattice tilt.

Eigenstates change abruptly at transition points.

Bloch oscillations serve as experimental signatures.

Abstract

We analyze the energy spectrum and eigenstates of cold atoms in a tilted brick-wall optical lattice. When the tilt is applied, the system exhibits a sequence of topological phase transitions reflected in an abrupt change of the eigenstates. It is demonstrated that these topological phase transitions can be easily detected in a laboratory experiment by observing Bloch oscillations of cold atoms.