Time-of-flight observables and the formation of Mott domains of fermions and bosons on optical lattices

We study, using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the energetics of the formation of Mott domains of fermions and bosons trapped on one-dimensional lattices. We show that, in both cases, the sum of kinetic and interaction energies exhibits minima when Mott domains appear in the trap. In addition, we examine the derivatives of the kinetic and interaction energies, and of their sum, which display clear signatures of the Mott transition. We discuss the relevance of these findings to time-of-flight experiments that could allow the detection of the metal-Mott-insulator transition in confined fermions on optical lattices, and support established results on the superfluid-Mott-insulator transition in confined bosons on optical lattices.