Quantum transport of non-interacting Fermi gas in an optical lattice combined with harmonic trapping

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dynamics of a non-interacting Fermi gas in an optical lattice with harmonic trapping, revealing various oscillation behaviors and localization phenomena driven by changes in the energy spectrum.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the energy spectrum and dynamical responses of Fermi gases under combined potentials, highlighting the transition from linear to quadratic spectra.

Findings

Observation of dipole and damped oscillations

Identification of localization regimes

Correlation between energy spectrum shape and dynamics

Abstract

We consider a non-interacting Fermi gas in a combined harmonic and periodic potential. We calculate the energy spectrum and simulate the motion of the gas after sudden replacement of the trap center. For different parameter regimes, the system presents dipole oscillations, damped oscillations around the replaced center, and localization. The behaviour is explained by the change of the energy spectrum from linear to quadratic.