Interaction effects on Wannier functions for bosons in an optical lattice

Abstract

We have numerically calculated the single-band Wannier functions for interacting Bose gases in optical lattices with a self-consistent approach. We find that the Wannier functions are broadened by repulsive interaction. The tunneling parameter $J$ and the on-site interaction $U$ computed with the broadened Wannier functions are found to change significantly with the number of atoms per site. Our theory can explain the nonuniform atomic clock shift observed in Campbell et al., Science 313, 649 (2006).