A simple method of calculating the Wannier-Stark resonances in 2D lattices is suggested. Using this method we calculate the complex Wannier-Stark spectrum for a non-separable 2D potential realized in optical lattices and analyze its general structure. The dependence of the lifetime of Wannier-Stark states on the direction of the static field (relative to the crystallographic axis of the lattice) is briefly discussed.
The paper studies the dynamics of transitions between the levels of a Wannier-Stark ladder induced by a resonant periodic driving. The analysis of the problem is done in terms of resonance quasienergy states, which take into account the metastable character of the Wannier-Stark states. It is shown that the periodic driving creates from a localized Wannier-Stark state an extended Bloch-like state with a spatial length varying in time as ~ t^1/2. Such a state can find applications in the field of atomic optics because it generates a coherent pulsed atomic beam.
An extremely simple and convenient method is presented for computing eigenvalues in quantum mechanics by representing position and momentum operators in a simple matrix form. The simplicity and success of the method is illustrated by numerical results concerning eigenvalues of bound systems and resonances for hermitian and non-hermitian Hamiltonians as well as driven quantum systems.