To test effective Hamiltonians for strongly interacting fermions in an optical lattice, we numerically find the energy spectrum for two fermions interacting across a Feshbach resonance in a double well potential. From the spectrum, we determine the r
ange of detunings for which the system can be described by an effective lattice model, and how the model parameters are related to the experimental parameters. We find that for a range of strong interactions the system is well described by an effective $t-J$ model, and the effective superexchange term, $J$, can be smoothly tuned through zero on either side of unitarity. Right at and around unitarity, an effective one-band general Hubbard model is appropriate, with a finite and small on-site energy, due to a lattice-induced anharmonic coupling between atoms at the scattering threshold and a weakly bound Feshbach molecule in an excited center of mass state.
When two atoms interact in the presence of an anharmonic potential, such as an optical lattice, the center of mass motion cannot be separated from the relative motion. In addition to generating a confinement-induced resonance (or shifting the positio
n of an existing Feshbach resonance), the external potential changes the resonance picture qualitatively by introducing new resonances where molecular excited center of mass states cross the scattering threshold. We demonstrate the existence of these resonances, give their quantitative characterization in an optical superlattice, and propose an experimental scheme to detect them through controlled sweeping of the magnetic field.
We present a numerical study on ground state properties of a one-dimensional (1D) general Hubbard model (GHM) with particle-assisted tunnelling rates and repulsive on-site interaction (positive-U), which describes fermionic atoms in an anisotropic op
tical lattice near a wide Feshbach resonance. For our calculation, we utilize the time evolving block decimation (TEBD) algorithm, which is an extension of the density matrix renormalization group and provides a well-controlled method for 1D systems. We show that the positive-U GHM, when hole-doped from half-filling, exhibits a phase with coexistence of quasi-long-range superfluid and charge-density-wave orders. This feature is different from the property of the conventional Hubbard model with positive-U, indicating the particle-assisted tunnelling mechanism in GHM brings in qualitatively new physics.
We consider a trapped Fermi gas with population imbalance at finite temperatures and map out the detailed phase diagram across a wide Feshbach resonance. We take the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrel (LOFF) state into consideration and minimize the the
rmodynamical potential to ensure stability. Under the local density approximation, we conclude that a stable LOFF state is present only on the BCS side of the Feshbach resonance, but not on the BEC side or at unitarity. Furthermore, even on the BCS side, a LOFF state is restricted at low temperatures and in a small region of the trap, which makes a direct observation of LOFF state a challenging task.
We derive an effective low-dimensional Hamiltonian for strongly interacting ultracold atoms in a transverse trapping potential near a wide Feshbach resonance. The Hamiltonian includes crucial information about transverse excitations in an effective m
odel with renormalized interaction between atoms and composite dressed molecules. We fix all the parameters in the Hamiltonian for both one- and two-dimensional cases.
We present a solution of the three-fermion problem in a harmonic potential across a Feshbach resonance. We compare the spectrum with that of the two-body problem and show that it is energetically unfavorable for the three fermions to occupy one latti
ce site rather than two. We also demonstrate the existence of an energy level crossing in the ground state with a symmetry change of its wave function, suggesting the possibility of a phase transition for the corresponding many-body case.
