Measuring the single-particle density matrix for fermions and hard-core bosons in an optical lattice

Abstract: Ultracold atoms in optical lattices provide clean, tunable, and well-isolated realizations of paradigmatic quantum lattice models. With the recent advent of quantum-gas microscopes, they now also offer the possibility to measure the occupations of individual lattice sites. What, however, has not yet been achieved is to measure those elements of the single-particle density matrix, which are off-diagonal in the occupation basis. Here, we propose a scheme to access these basic quantities both for fermions as well as hard-core bosons and investigate its accuracy and feasibility. The scheme relies on the engineering of a large effective tunnel coupling between distant lattice sites and a protocol that is based on measuring site occupations after two subsequent quenches.