Quantum walks accompanied by spin flipping in one-dimensional optical lattices

We investigate continuous-time quantum walks of two fermionic atoms loaded in one-dimensional optical lattices with on-site interaction and subjected to a Zeeman field. The quantum walks are accompanied by spin-flipping processes. We calculate the time-dependent density distributions of the two fermions with opposite spins which are initially positioned at the center site by means of an exact numerical method. Besides the usual fast linear expansion behavior, we find an interesting spin-flipping-induced localization in the time evolution of density distributions. We show that the fast linear expansion behavior can be restored by simply ramping up the Zeeman field or further increasing the spin-flipping strength. The intrinsic origin of this exotic phenomenon is attributed to the emergence of a flat band in the single-particle spectrum of the system. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of on-site interaction on the dynamics of the quantum walkers. The two-particle correlations are calculated and the signal of localization is also shown therein. A simple potential experimental application of this interesting phenomenon is proposed.