Quantum Many Particle Systems in Ring-Shaped Optical Lattices

In the present work we demonstrate how to realize a 1D closed optical lattice experimentally, including a tunable boundary phase twist. The latter may induce ‘‘persistent currents,’’ visible by studying the atoms’ momentum distribution. We show how important phenomena in 1D physics can be studied by physical realization of systems of trapped atoms in ring-shaped optical lattices. A mixture of bosonic and/or fermionic atoms can be loaded into the lattice, realizing a generic quantum system of many interacting particles.