Controlling Spin-Dependent Localization and Directed Transport in a Bipartite Lattice

We study coherent control of spin-dependent dynamical localization (DL) and directed transport (DT) of a spin-orbit-coupled single atom held in a driven optical bipartite lattice. Under the high-frequency limit and nearest-neighbor tight-binding approximation, we find a new decoupling mechanism between states with the same (different) spins, which leads to two sets of analytical solutions describing DL and DT with (without) spin flipping. The analytical results are numerically confirmed, and perfect agreements are found. Extending the research to a system of spin-orbit-coupled single atoms, the spin current and quantum information transport with controllable propagation speed and distance are investigated. The results can be experimentally tested in the current setups and may be useful in quantum information processing.