Edge States in Cold Atom Optical Lattices

ORAL

Abstract

We argue that edge state response to external potentials applied to trapped insulators in cold atom optical lattices offer a unique probe of bulk physics. As an example we study the trapped Bose-Hubbard model using Gutzwiller mean-field theory. We calculate the response of Mott insulator edge states to external potentials. We show that the response leads to observables which may be extracted from time of flight measurements.

*This work is supported by ARO-DTO, ARO-LPS, and NSF

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Authors

  • Vito Scarola

    • University of Maryland

  • Sankar Das Sarma

    • Condensed Matter Theory Center, Physics Department, University of Maryland
    • Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
    • Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
    • University of Maryland
    • Condensed Matter Theory Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-4111, USA
    • University of Maryland, College Park
    • CMTC, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
    • CMTC, Department of Physics, UMD, Maryland
    • Condensed Matter Theory Center, University of Maryland