Atomic lattice excitons: From condensates to crystals

We discuss atomic lattice excitons (ALEs), bound particle-hole pairs formed by fermionic atoms in two bands of an optical lattice. Such a system provides a clean set-up, with tunable masses and interactions, to study fundamental properties of excitons including exciton condensation. We also find that for a large effective mass ratio between particles and holes, effective long-range interactions can mediate the formation of an exciton crystal, for which superfluidity is suppressed. Using a combination of mean-field treatments, bosonized theory based on a Born-Oppenheimer approximation, and one-dimensional (1D) numerical computation, we discuss the properties of ALEs under varying conditions, and discuss in particular their preparation and measurement.