Strongly interacting quantum gases in one-dimensional traps

Abstract

Under second-order degenerate perturbation theory, we show that the physics of $N$ particles with arbitrary spin confined in a one-dimensional trap in the strongly interacting regime can be described by superexchange interaction. An effective spin-chain Hamiltonian (non-translationally-invariant Sutherland model) can be constructed from this procedure. For spin-1/2 particles, this model reduces to the non-translationally-invariant Heisenberg model, where a transition between Heisenberg antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) states is expected to occur when the interaction strength is tuned from the strongly repulsive to the strongly attractive limit. We show that the FM and the AFM states can be distinguished by two different methods: the first is based on their distinct responses to a spin-dependent magnetic gradient, and the second is based on their distinct momentum distributions. We confirm the validity of the spin-chain model by comparison with results obtained from several unbiased techniques.