Static and dynamic phases of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in an optical lattice

Abstract

We investigate the properties of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in the presence of a one-dimensional lattice potential. Such a system is known to exhibit a pinning transition when the lattice is commensurate with the particle density, leading to the formation of an insulating state even at infinitesimally small lattice depths. Here we examine the properties of the gas at all lattices depths and, in addition to the static properties, also consider the non-adiabatic dynamics induced by the sudden motion of the lattice potential with a constant speed. Our work provides a continuum counterpart to the work done in discrete lattice models.