Spectra and dynamics of quantum droplets in an optical lattice

Abstract

The optical lattice plays an important role in the stability and dynamics of quantum droplets. In this article, we investigate the Bogoliubov excitation spectrum of quantum droplets in an optical lattice in the thermodynamic limit. We classify the collective excitations as synchronous modes, Bloch phononic modes, and site-population-imbalanced modes. For synchronous modes, we measure the dipole oscillation frequencies by quench dynamics with a sudden shift of the optical lattice and the breathing frequencies by Floquet dynamics with a periodic change of the lattice depth. Bloch phononic modes are observable from the Landau critical velocity of the droplets. We further discuss the instability induced by site-dependent density fluctuations and calculate the critical filling of atoms where the growth of lattice vacancy breaks down the translational symmetry of the system. This work makes essential steps towards measuring the excitation spectrum and understanding the superfluid nature of quantum droplets in an optical lattice.