Observation of Two-Dimensional Mott Insulator and π-Superfluid Quantum Phase Transition in Shaking Optical Lattice

Abstract

The Mott insulator and superfluid phase transition is one of the most prominent phenomena in ultracold atoms. We report the observation of a novel 2D quantum phase transition between the Mott insulator and π superfluid in a shaking optical lattice. In the deep optical lattice regime, the lowest S band can be tuned to Mott phase, while the higher px,y bands are itinerant for having larger bandwidth. Through a shaking technique coupling the s-orbital to px,y -orbital states, we experimentally observe the transition between the states of the S and px,y bands, leading to a quantum phase transition from two-dimensional s-orbital Mott phase to the px,y -orbital superfluid which condensed at (π, π) momentum. Using the band-mapping method, we also observe the changes of atomic population in different energy bands during the transition, and the experimental results are well consistent with theoretical expectations.