Noise Correlations and Quantum Coherence in Hard-core Bosons in One-dimensional Lattices

Noise correlations, such as those observable in the time of flight images of a released cloud, are calculated for hard-core bosonic (HCB) atoms. We find that the standard mapping of HCB systems onto spin-1/2 XY models fails in application to computation of noise correlations. This is due to the contribution of multiply occupied virtual states to noise correlations in bosonic systems. Such states do not exist in spin models. We use these correlations to explore quantum coherence of the ground states and re-address the relationship between the peaks present in noise correlation and the Mott phase. Our analysis points to distinctive new experimental signatures of the Mott phase. The importance of these correlations is illustrated in an example of a quasiperiodic potential that exhibits a localization transition. In this case, in contrast to the momentum distribution, the noise correlations reveal the presence of quasiperiodic order in the localized phase.