title: Signature of Mott-insulator transition with ultracold fermions in a one-dimensional optical lattice.
abstract: Using the exact Bethe ansatz solution of the Hubbard model and Luttinger liquid theory, we investigate the density profiles and collective modes of one-dimensional ultracold fermions confined in an optical lattice with a harmonic trapping potential. We determine a generic phase diagram in terms of a characteristic filling factor and a dimensionless coupling constant. The collective oscillations of the atomic mass density, a technique that is commonly used in experiments, provide a signature of the quantum phase transition from the metallic phase to the Mott-insulator phase. A detailed experimental implementation is proposed.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics, Department of Physics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Xia-Ji
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu