Fast Dynamics for Atoms in Optical Lattices

Cold atoms in optical lattices allow for accurate studies of many body dynamics. Rapid time-dependent modifications of optical lattice potentials may result in significant excitations in atomic systems. The dynamics in such a case is frequently quite incompletely described by standard applications of tight-binding models (such as, e.g., Bose-Hubbard model or its extensions) that typically neglect the effect of the dynamics on the transformation between the real space and the tight-binding basis. We illustrate the importance of a proper quantum mechanical description using a multiband extended Bose-Hubbard model with time-dependent Wannier functions. We apply it to situations directly related to experiments. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.065301