Theoretical description of two ultracold atoms in finite three-dimensional optical lattices using realistic interatomic interaction potentials

A theoretical approach is described for an exact numerical treatment of a pair of ultracold atoms interacting via a central potential and that are trapped in a finite three-dimensional optical lattice. The coupling of center-of-mass and relative-motion coordinates is treated using an exact diagonalization (configuration-interaction) approach. The orthorhombic symmetry of an optical lattice with three different but orthogonal lattice vectors is explicitly considered as is the fermionic or bosonic symmetry in the case of indistinguishable particles.