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Mott-insulating phases of the Bose-Hubbard model on quasi-one-dimensional ladder lattices

Lorenzo Carfora1,*, Callum W. Duncan2,1, Stefan Kuhr1, and Peter Kirton1,†

  • 1Department of Physics and SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
  • 2Aegiq Ltd., Arundel Street, Sheffield S1 2NS, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: lorenzo.carfora.2018@uni.strath.ac.uk
  • †Contact author: peter.kirton@strath.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 023301 – Published 3 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wml6-1kc2

Abstract

We calculate the phase diagram of the Bose-Hubbard model on a half-filled ladder lattice including the effect of finite on-site interactions. This shows that the rung-Mott insulator (RMI) phase persists for finite interaction strength, and we calculate the RMI-superfluid phase boundary in the thermodynamic limit. We show that the phases can still be distinguished using the number and parity variances, which are observables accessible in a quantum-gas microscope. Phases analogous to the RMI were found to exist in other quasi-one-dimensional lattice structures, with the lattice connectivity modifying the phase boundaries. This shows that the presence of these phases is the result of states with one-dimensional structures being mapped onto higher-dimensional systems, driven by the reduction of hopping rates along different directions.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 023301– Published 3 August, 2026
  • Received 25 February 2026
  • Accepted 13 July 2026
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