title: Zoo of quantum phases and excitations of cold bosonic atoms in optical lattices.
abstract: Quantum phases and phase transitions of weakly to strongly interacting bosonic atoms in deep to shallow optical lattices are described by a single multiorbital mean-field approach in real space. For weakly interacting bosons in one dimension, the critical value of the superfluid to Mott insulator (MI) transition found is in excellent agreement with many-body treatments of the Bose-Hubbard model. For strongly interacting bosons, (i) additional MI phases appear, for which two (or more) atoms residing in each site undergo a Tonks-Girardeau-like transition and localize, and (ii) on-site excitation becomes the excitation lowest in energy. Experimental implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Theoretische Chemie, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ofir@tc.pci.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Ofir E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Alon
authors.forename: Alexej I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Streltsov
authors.forename: Lorenz S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Cederbaum