Macroscopic superposition states in rotating ring lattices

Abstract

We investigate the effects of rotation on one-dimensional ultracold bosons confined to optical ring lattices. First, we show that there exists a critical rotation frequency at which the ground state of a weakly-interacting and integer-filled atomic gas is fragmented into a macroscopic superposition state with different circulation. Second, we point out several advantages of using slightly non-uniform ring lattices. Finally, we demonstrate that different quasi-momentum states can be distinguished in time-of-flight absorption imaging and propose to probe correlations via the many-body oscillations induced by a sudden change in the rotation frequency.