Resonant excitations of a Bose Einstein condensate in an optical lattice

Abstract

We investigate experimentally a Bose Einstein condensate placed in a 1D optical lattice whose phase or amplitude is modulated in a frequency range resonant with the first bands of the band structure. We study the combined effect of the strength of interactions and external confinement on the 1 and 2-phonon transitions. We identify lines immune or sensitive to atom-atom interactions. Experimental results are in good agreement with numerical simulations. Using the band mapping technique, we get a direct access to the populations that have undergone $n$-phonon transitions for each modulation frequency.