Ultracold bosons in zig-zag optical lattices

Abstract

Ultracold bosons in zig-zag optical lattices present a rich physics due to the interplay between frustration induced by lattice geometry, two-body interactions, and a three-body constraint. Unconstrained bosons may develop chiral superfluidity and become a Mott insulator even at vanishingly small interactions. Bosons with a three-body constraint allow for a Haldane-insulator phase in nonpolar gases, as well as pair superfluidity and density-wave phases for attractive interactions. These phases may be created and detected within the current state-of-the-art techniques. © 2013 American Physical Society.