Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Motivated by experimental progress in strongly coupled atom-photon systems in optical cavities, we study theoretically the quantum dynamics of atoms coupled to a one-dimensional dynamical optical lattice. The dynamical lattice is chosen to have a period that is incommensurate with that of an underlying static lattice, leading to a dynamical version of the Aubry-Andr\'e model which can cause localization of single-particle wave functions. We show that atomic wave packets in this dynamical lattice generically spread via anomalous diffusion, which can be tuned between superdiffusive and subdiffusive regimes. This anomalous diffusion arises from an interplay between Anderson localization and quantum fluctuations of the cavity field.
Source: Physical Review A
Authors: Wei Zheng, Nigel R. Cooper
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2756042447