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Dimensional crossover of bound complexes in a two-species Bose-Hubbard lattice: Correlations and dynamics

Deepak Gaur1,*, Koushik Mukherjee1,2,†, and Stephanie M. Reimann1

  • *Contact author: deepak.gaur@fysik.lu.se
  • †Contact author: koushikphysics21@gmail.com
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033111 – Published 27 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fn63-5vq1

Abstract

We study the equilibrium and nonequilibrium formation of four-particle complexes in a balanced two-species Bose-Hubbard model with repulsive intraspecies and attractive interspecies interactions. Using exact diagonalization, we characterize the transition from weakly to strongly correlated dimer and tetramer states along the one- to two-dimensional crossover in coupled-chain geometries by combining local correlation signatures with global diagnostics such as the binding energy and interspecies entanglement entropy. We show that transverse connectivity between chains qualitatively reshapes the phase diagram, substantially enlarging the tetramer region and, in particular, stabilizing weakly bound tetramers when compared to the one-dimensional chains. By tuning the interchain hopping, we identify a transition from a degenerate manifold of spatially separated dimers to a localized tetramer ground state, driven by the lifting of one-dimensional configurational degeneracies and an associated kinetic-energy gain. By extending our analysis to larger complexes of six and eight particles, we reveal that these binding mechanisms are robust and suggest a general pathway for the formation of higher-order complexes. Finally, we demonstrate interaction and geometric quench protocols to dynamically prepare these complexes with high fidelity. Our results provide a microscopic framework for engineering and probing few-body bosonic bound states in tunable lattice geometries.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033111– Published 27 July, 2026
  • Received 5 February 2026
  • Accepted 24 June 2026
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