Non-Abelian gauge potential driven localization transition in quasiperiodic optical lattices

Abstract

Gauge potential is an emergent concept in systems of ultracold atomic gases. Derived from quantum waves immersed in an \emph{Abelian} gauge, the quasiperiodic Aubry-Andre-Harper (AAH) model is a simple yet powerful Hamiltonian to study the Anderson localization of ultracold atoms. In this work, we investigate the localization properties of ultracold atoms trapped in quasiperiodic optical lattices subject to a non-Abelian gauge, which can be depicted by a family of non-Abelian AAH models. We identify that the non-Abelian AAH models can bear the self-duality under the Fourier transformation. We thus analyze the localization transition of this self-dual non-Abelian quasiperiodic optical lattices, revealing that the non-Abelian gauge involved drives a transition from a pure delocalization phase, then to coexistence phases, and then finally to a pure localization phase. This is in stark contrast to the Abelian AAH model that does not support the coexistence phases. Our results thus comprise a new insight on the fundamental aspects of Anderson localization in quasiperiodic systems, from the perspective of non-Abelian gauge.

References in corpus (14)

• Many-Body Physics with Ultracold Gases
• Anderson Transitions
• Direct observation of Anderson localization of matter-waves in a controlled disorder
• Non-Abelian gauge potentials for ultra-cold atoms with degenerate dark states
• Nearest neighbor tight binding models with an exact mobility edge in one dimension
• Non-Abelian optical lattices: Anomalous quantum Hall effect and Dirac Fermions
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• Coherent Backscattering of Ultracold Atoms
• Ultracold atomic gases in non-Abelian gauge potentials: The case of constant Wilson loop
• Ultracold atomic gas in non-Abelian "magnetic" fields: the quantum Hall effect supremacy
• Self-dual quasiperiodic systems with power-law hopping
• Artificial gauge fields with ultracold atoms
• Massless Dirac Fermions in a Square Optical Lattice
• Metal-Insulator Transition Revisited for Cold Atoms in Non-Abelian Gauge Potentials

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Artificial non-Abelian lattice gauge fields for photons in the synthetic frequency dimension
• Non-Abelian Generalizations of the Hofstadter model: Spin-orbit-coupled Butterfly Pairs
• Non-Abelian generalization of non-Hermitian quasicrystal: PT-symmetry breaking, localization, entanglement and topological transitions
• Imbalance for a family of one-dimensional incommensurate models with mobility edges