Supersolid and charge-density-wave states from anisotropic interaction in an optical lattice

We show anisotropy of the dipole interaction between magnetic atoms or polar molecules can stabilize new quantum phases in an optical lattice. Using a well-controlled numerical method based on the tensor network algorithm, we calculate the phase diagram of the resultant effective Hamiltonian in a two-dimensional square lattice—an anisotropic Hubbard model of hard-core bosons with attractive interaction in one direction and repulsive interaction in the other direction. Besides the conventional superfluid and the Mott insulator states, we find the striped and the checkerboard charge-density-wave states and the supersolid phase that interconnect the superfluid and the striped solid states. The transition to the supersolid phase has a mechanism different from the case of the soft-core Bose-Hubbard model.