Bose-Hubbard physics in synthetic dimensions from interaction Trotterization

Activating transitions between a set of atomic internal states has emerged as an elegant scheme by which lattice models can be designed in ultracold atomic gases. In this approach, the internal states can be viewed as fictitious lattice sites defined along a synthetic dimension, hence offering a powerful method by which the spatial dimensionality of the system can be extended. Inter-particle collisions generically lead to infinite-range interactions along the synthetic dimensions, which a priori precludes the design of Bose-Hubbard-type models featuring on-site interactions. In this article, we solve this obstacle by introducing a protocol that realizes strong and tunable "on-site" interactions along an atomic synthetic dimension. Our scheme is based on pulsing strong intra-spin interactions in a fast and periodic manner, hence realizing the desired "on-site" interactions in a digital (Trotterized) manner. We explore the viability of this protocol by means of numerical calculations, which we perform on various examples that are relevant to ultracold-atom experiments. This general method, which could be applied to various atomic species by means of fast-response protocols based on Fano-Feshbach resonances, opens the route for the exploration of strongly-correlated matter in synthetic dimensions.