Feshbach resonances in an optical lattice

Abstract

We present a theory for ultracold atomic gases in an optical lattice near a Feshbach resonance. In the single-band approximation the theory describes atoms and molecules that can both tunnel through the lattice. Moreover, an avoided crossing between the two-atom and the molecular states occurs at every site. We determine the microscopic parameters of the generalized Hubbard model that describes this physics, using the experimentally known parameters of the Feshbach resonance in the absence of the optical lattice. As an application we also calculate the zero-temperature phase diagram of an atomic Bose gas in an optical lattice.