Superfluid to Mott-insulator transition in a one-dimensional optical lattice

Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of sodium atoms are transferred into one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice potentials, formed by two laser beams with a wavelength of 1064 nm, in a shallow optical trap. The phase coherence of the condensate in the lattice potential is studied by changing the lattice depth. A qualitative change in behavior of the BEC is observed at a lattice depth of ～ 13.7 E_r, where the quantum gas undergoes a transition from a superfluid state to a state that lacks well-to-well phase coherence.