Few quantum particles on one dimensional lattices

There is currently a great interest in the physics of degenerate quantum gases and low-energy few-body scattering due to the recent experimental advances in manipulation of ultracold atoms by light. In particular, almost perfect periodic potentials, called optical lattices, can be generated. The lattice spacing is fixed by the wavelength of the laser field employed and the angle betwen the pair of laser beams; the lattice depth, defining the magnitude of the different band gaps, is tunable within a large interval of values. This flexibility permits the exploration of different regimes, ranging from the ''free-electron'' picture, modified by the effective mass for shallow optical lattices, to the tight-binding regime of a very deep periodic potential. In the latter case, effective single-band theories, widely used in condensed matter physics, can be implemented with unprecedent accuracy. The tunability of the lattice depth is nowadays complemented by the use of magnetic Feshbach resonances which, at very low temperatures, can vary the relevant atom-atom scattering properties at will. Moreover, optical lattices loaded with gases of effectively reduced dimensionality are experimentally accessible. This is especially important for one spatial dimension, since most of the exactly solvable models in many-body quantum mechanics deal with particles on a line; therefore, experiments with one-dimensional gases serve as a testing ground for many old and new theories which were regarded as purely academic not so long ago. The physics of few quantum particles on a one-dimensional lattice is the topic of this thesis. Most of the results are obtained in the tight-binding approximation, which is amenable to exact numerical or analytical treatment. For the two-body problem, theoretical methods for calculating the stationary scattering and bound states are developed. These are used to obtain, in closed form, the two-particle solutions of both the Hubbard and extended Hubbard models; it is found that the latter can show resonant scattering behavior. A new theorem, which characterizes all two-body bound states on a one-dimensional lattice with arbitrary finite range interactions, is proven here. The methods used for the simplest Hubbard models are then generalized to obtain exact results for arbitrary interactions and particle statistics. The problem of binding and scattering of three identical bosons is studied in detail, finding new types of bound states with no continuous space counterparts. The physics of these trimers is revealed by an effective model which is then applied to ''dimer''-''monomer'' scattering on the lattice. Stationary states of other lattice systems are also considered. First, the problems of binding and scattering of a single particle on a superlattice off a static impurity are analytically solved. Among the results obtained, the presence of a second bound state for any lattice and interaction strengths is highlighted. Second, a model of the harmonic oscillator on the lattice, preserving most of the properties of its continuous space analog, is presented and analytically solved. Two different models, being formally equivalent to the aforementioned lattice oscillator, are then constructed and solved exactly. Quantum transport of a a single particle and a bound particle pair on a onedimensional lattice superimposed with a weak trap is investigated. Based on the knowledge of the results obtained for stationary states, coherent, non-dispersive transport of one and two particles can be achieved. A surprising fact - repulsively bound pairs are tighter bound than those with attractive interaction - is found and physically explained in a simple way. (orig.)