Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference on a Lattice: Symmetries and Interactions

Abstract

The Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of two identical particles evolving on a 1D tight-binding lattice where a potential barrier plays the role of a beam splitter is described. Careful consideration of the symmetries underlying the two-particle interference effect allows to reformulate the problem in terms of ordinary wave interference in a Michelson interferometer. This approach is easily generalized to the case where the particles interact, and we compare the resulting analytical predictions for the bunching probability to numerical simulations of the two-particle dynamics.