Superfluid to normal phase transition in strongly correlated bosons in two and three dimensions

Abstract

Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the finite-temperature phase diagram of hard-core bosons (XY model) in two- and three-dimensional lattices. To determine the phase boundaries, we perform a finite-size-scaling analysis of the condensate fraction and/or the superfluid stiffness. We then discuss how these phase diagrams can be measured in experiments with trapped ultracold gases, where the systems are inhomogeneous. For that, we introduce a method based on the measurement of the zero-momentum occupation, which is adequate for experiments dealing with both homogeneous and trapped systems, and compare it with previously proposed approaches.

13 pages, 11 figures. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.043629