title: Three-dimensional dynamics of a fermionic Mott wedding-cake in clean and disordered optical lattices.
abstract: Non-equilibrium quantum phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. Yet, theoretical predictions on the real-time dynamics of many-body quantum systems remain formidably challenging, especially for high dimensions, strong interactions or disordered samples. Here we consider a notable paradigm of strongly correlated Fermi systems, the Mott phase of the Hubbard model, in a setup resembling ultracold-gases experiments. We study the three-dimensional expansion of a cloud into an optical lattice after removing the confining potential. We use time-dependent density-functional theory combined with dynamical mean-field theory, considering interactions below and above the Mott threshold, as well as disorder effects. At strong coupling, we observe multiple timescales in the melting of the Mott wedding-cake structure, as the Mott plateau persist orders of magnitude longer than the band insulating core. We also show that disorder destabilises the Mott plateau and that, compared to a clean setup, localisation can decrease, creating an interesting dynamic crossover during the expansion.
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Physics and European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kartsev
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Privitera
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Verdozzi