Modulation of periodic field on the atomic current in optical lattices with Landau–Zener tunneling considered

We investigate the atomic current in optical lattices under the presence of both constant and periodic external field with Landau–Zener tunneling considered. By simplifying the system to a two-band model, the atomic current is obtained based on the Boltzmann equations. We focus on three situations to discuss the influence of the Landau–Zener tunneling and periodic field on the atomic current. Numerical calculations show the atomic transient current would finally become the stable oscillation, whose amplitude and average value can be further adjusted by the periodic external field. It is concluded that the periodic external field could provide an effective modulation on the atomic current even when the Landau–Zener tunneling probability has almostly become a constant.