Transport controlled by Poincar\'e orbit topology in a driven inhomogeneous lattice gas

Abstract

In periodic quantum systems which are both homogeneously tilted and driven, the interplay between drive and Bloch oscillations controls transport dynamics. Using a quantum gas in a modulated optical lattice, we show experimentally that inhomogeneity of the applied force leads to a rich new variety of dynamical behaviors controlled by the drive phase, from self-parametrically-modulated Bloch epicycles to adaptive driving of transport against a force gradient to modulation-enhanced monopole modes. Matching experimental observations to fit-parameter-free numerical predictions of time-dependent band theory, we show that these phenomena can be quantitatively understood as manifestations of an underlying inhomogeneity-induced phase space structure, in which topological classification of stroboscopic Poincar\'e orbits controls the transport dynamics.