Absence of quasiclassical coherence in mean-field dynamics of bosons in a kinetically frustrated regime

Abstract

We study numerically the dynamics of bosons on a triangular lattice after quenching both the on-site interactions and the external trapping potential to negative values. In a similar situation on the square lattice, the dynamics can be understood in terms of an effectively reversed Hamiltonian. On the triangular lattice, however, the kinetic part of the reversed Hamiltonian is frustrated and whether coherence can develop is an open question. The strength of the frustration can be changed by tuning the ratio of the hopping rates along different directions. We calculate time-of-flight images at different times after the quench for different values of the hopping anisotropy. We observe peaks at the maxima of the original non-interacting dispersion relation both in the isotropic case and also in the rhombic limit of high hopping anisotropy. For an intermediate value, however, no coherence develops up to the longest simulation times. These results imply that experiments along similar lines could study unconventional superfluidity of bosons and aspects of the conjectured spin-liquid behavior in the hard-core limit.