A first order superfluid-Mott insulator transition for a Bose–Hubbard model in an emergent lattice

Abstract

Abstract The combination of strong correlation and emergent lattice can be achieved when quantum gases are confined in a superradiant Fabry–Perot cavity. In addition to the discoveries of exotic phases, such as density wave ordered Mott insulator and superfluid, a surprising kink structure is found in the slope of the cavity strength as a function of the pumping strength. In this article, we show that the appearance of such a kink is a manifestation of a liquid–vapour-like transition between two superfluids with different densities. The slopes in the immediate neighborhood of the kink become divergent at the liquid–vapour critical points and display a critical scaling law with a critical exponent 1 in the quantum critical region.