Strongly interacting ultracold quantum gases

Ultracold atoms in optical lattices provide an extremely clean and controllable setting to explore quantum many-body phases of matter. Here we give a brief review of the strong-correlation physics that has been realized using such ultracold atoms in optical lattices ranging from the realization of Hubbard models to studies of quantum magnetism and the detection of single atoms with lattice site resolution. All this has opened up fundamentally new opportunities for the investigation of quantum many-body systems. Introduction Over the past years, ultracold atoms in optical lattices have emerged as versatile new systems to explore the physics of quantum many-body systems. On the one hand, they can be helpful in gaining a better understanding of known phases of matter and their dynamical behavior; on the other hand, they allow one to realize completely novel quantum systems that have not been studied before in nature [1, 2, 3]. Commonly, the approach of exploring quantum many-body systems in such a way is referred to as “quantum simulations.” Examples of some of the first strongly interacting many-body phases that have been realized both in lattices and in the continuum include the quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator [4, 5, 6], fermionic Mott insulators [7, 8], the achievement of a Tonks- Girardeau gas [9, 10], and the realization of the Bose-Einsten condensate (BEC)– Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) crossover (see also Chapter 12) in Fermi gas mixture [11] using Feshbach resonances [12]. In almost all of these experiments, detection was limited to time-of-flight imaging or more refined derived techniques that mainly characterized the momentum distribution of the quantum gas [2]. For several years, researchers in the field have therefore aspired to employ in situ single-particle detection methods for the analysis of ultracold quantum gases. Only recently has it become possible to implement such imaging techniques, marking a milestone for the characterization and manipulation of ultracold quantum gases [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]. In our discussion, we will focus on one of the most successful of these techniques based on high-resolution fluorescence imaging. Despite being a rather new technique, such quantum gas microscopy has already proven to be an enabling technology for probing and manipulating quantum many-body systems. For the first time, controllable and strongly interacting many-body systems, as realized with ultracold atoms, could be observed on a local scale [17, 16].

Research focusing on the formation of ultracold atomic and molecular quantum gases is a continuously expanding field due to its envisioned applications such as quantum-controlled chemistry or quantum simulation. The aim of our theoretical work is to find ways to suppress inelastic or reactive processes between colliding particles in ultracold quantum gases. Using a laser field detuned to the blue of a relevant transition, we propose to couple the initial colliding particle state to a repulsive excited one, thus preventing the particles to come close to each other. This "blueshielding" technique is applied for ultracold quantum gases, close to quantum degeneracy. We investigate the optical shielding in ultracold <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">39</sup> K-Cs collision by using close-coupling channel method. As the (3) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> Σ <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">+</sup> and (2) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> Π <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">+</sup> molecular states are repulsive in long range[1], one verified effective optical shielding can be realized via driving the transition from the ground α <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> Σ <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">+</sup> state to these excited states in the presence of linear-polarized light. We demonstrate that a strong field with a small blue detuning to the atomic transition is to the benefit of shielding since the Condon point is farther away from the inner region of ground triplet state. The spontaneous emission effect is taken into account by considering excited optical potentials with the modified formula of shielding rate [2]. We expect the shielding efficiency could be improved by using circular-polarized light [3].

Magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances are an indispensable tool for experiments with atomic quantum gases. We report on 37 thus far unpublished Feshbach resonances and four further probable Feshbach resonances in spin mixtures of ultracold fermionic 40K with temperatures well below 100 nK. In particular, we locate a broad resonance at B = 389.7G with a magnetic width of 26.7 G. Here 1 G = 10-4 T. Furthermore, by exciting low-energy spin waves, we demonstrate a means to precisely determine the zero crossing of the scattering length for this broad Feshbach resonance. Our findings allow for further tunability in experiments with ultracold 40K quantum gases.

Scattering resonances are fundamental to many areas of physics, occurring across a wide range of energy scales. In ultracold quantum gases, magnetic Feshbach resonances have transformed quantum many-body research by enabling precise interaction control between atoms. Here, we demonstrate unprecedented control to engineer Feshbach resonances at tunable positions via Floquet driving in a lithium-6 (^{6}Li) atom gas, achieved through strong magnetic field modulation at megacycles per second frequencies. This periodic modulation creates scattering resonances whenever dressed molecular levels cross the atomic threshold. By adding a second modulation at twice the base frequency, we tune the asymmetry of resonance loss profiles and suppress two-body losses from Floquet heating. This technique enhances control over atomic interactions, expanding possibilities for quantum simulations of complex systems and studies of exotic quantum phases.

Recent years have seen tremendous progress in the field of cold and ultracold molecules. A central goal in the field is currently the realization of stable rovibronic ground-state molecular samples in the regime of quantum degeneracy, e.g. in the form of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates, molecular degenerate Fermi gases, or, when an optical lattice is present, molecular Mott-insulator phases. However, molecular samples are not readily cooled to the extremely low temperatures at which quantum degeneracy occurs. In particular, laser cooling, the 'workhorse' for the field of atomic quantum gases, is generally not applicable to molecular samples. Here we take an important step beyond previous work1 and provide details on the realization of an ultracold quantum gas of ground-state dimer molecules trapped in an optical lattice as recently reported in Ref. 2. We demonstrate full control over all internal and external quantum degrees of freedom for the ground-state molecules by deterministically preparing the molecules in a single quantum state, i.e. in a specific hyperfine sublevel of the rovibronic ground state, while the molecules are trapped in the motional ground state of the individual lattice wells. We circumvent the problem of cooling by associating weakly-bound molecules out of a zero-temperature atomic Mott-insulator state and by transferring these to the absolute ground state in a four-photon STIRAP process. Our preparation procedure directly leads to a long-lived, lattice-trapped molecular many-body state, which we expect to form the platform for many of the envisioned future experiments with molecular quantum gases, e.g. on precision molecular spectroscopy, quantum information science, and dipolar quantum systems.

Artificial crystals of light, consisting of hundreds of thousands of optical microtraps, are routinely created by interfering optical laser beams. These so-called optical lattices act as versatile potential landscapes to trap ultracold quantum gases of bosons and fermions. They form powerful model systems of quantum many-body systems in periodic potentials for probing nonlinear wave dynamics and strongly correlated quantum phases, building fundamental quantum gates or observing Fermi surfaces in periodic potentials. Optical lattices represent a fast-paced modern and interdisciplinary field of research.

We present the microscopic theory for the BEC-BCS crossover of an atomic Fermi gas in an optical lattice, showing that the Feshbach resonance underlying the crossover in principle induces strong multiband effects. Nevertheless, the BEC-BCS crossover itself can be described by a single-band model since it occurs at magnetic fields that are relatively far away from the Feshbach resonance. A criterion is proposed for the latter, which is obeyed by most known Feshbach resonances in ultracold atomic gases.

Summary form only given. Over the past years, ultracold quantum gases have offered remarkable opportunities to investigate quantum matter through new probing techniques and in previously unexplored regimes. They can in fact be seen as one of the first realizations of Richard Feynman's visionary concept of a quantum simulator offering far-reaching possibilities to engineer new phases of matter.In my talk, I will give an overview over some of the recent scientific highlights in the field. For example, I will explain how atoms can be imaged in optical lattices with single-site and single-atom resolution thereby allowing one to obtain single snapshots of a quantum many-body systems, where every individual atom of the system can be detected. Such high-resolution imaging has enabled our group to directly probe quantum fluctuations and reveal hidden order in a many-body setting. Having such high resolution at hand, it has also been possible to address and coherently control individual atoms, thereby allowing one to realize single atom impurities that can be tracked in a time resolved way during their propagation through a complex correlated quantum system. By making use of adiabatic state evolution in quantum mechanics or laser induced hopping in optical lattices, it has now also become possible to realize artificial magnetic fields for neutral particles. The field strengths that can be achieved for such systems can by far surpass even the strongest fields from the most powerful magnets on earth and allow one to probe quantum matter under the most extreme conditions.

Imagine you could produce an artificial crystal for quantum matter, defect free and with complete control over the periodic crystal potential. The shape of the periodic potential, its depth and the interactions between the underlying particles could be changed at will and the particles could be moved around in a highly controlled way, at essentially zero temperature. This sounds almost too good to be true, but it is in fact what optical lattices have made possible for cold and ultracold atoms.

After deriving the isothermal Hellmann-Feynman theorem (IHFT) that is suitable for mixed states in a canonical ensemble, we use this theorem to obtain the isothermal magnetic-field sweep theorems for the free, average, and trapping energies and for the entropy, specific heat, pressure, and atomic compressibility of strongly correlated ultracold quantum gases. In particular, we apply the sweep theorems to two-component Fermi gases in the weakly interacting Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer and Bose-Einstein condensate limits, showing that the temperature dependence of the contact parameter can be determined by varying either the entropy or specific heat with respect to the scattering length. We also use the IHFT to obtain the virial theorem in a canonical ensemble and discuss its implications for quantum gases.

The heteronuclear atomic collision in the presence of a radio frequency (RF) electric field and a dc magnetic field is investigated theoretically by using the asymptotic bound state model. A RF field can be used to modify Feshbach resonance by choosing suitable intensity and frequency. The control mechanism is based on the interaction of the RF electric field with the instantaneous dipole moment of the collision atomic pair. We find an interesting phenomenon: the character exchange of the Feshbach resonances and resonance interference modulated by the RF field takes place in the ultracold collision of 6Li and 40K. This resonance interference may be used to modify the interactions in ultracold quantum gases.

We discuss the mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity and superfluidity in 3D and 2D fermionic systems with purely repulsive interaction at low densities. We construct phase diagrams of these systems and find the areas of the superconducting state in free space, as well as on the lattice in the framework of the Fermi-gas model with hard-core repulsion, the Hubbard model, the Shubin-Vonsovsky model, and the $t-J$ model. We demonstrate that the critical superconducting temperature can be greatly increased in the spin-polarized case or in a two-band situation already at low densities. The proposed theory is based on the Kohn-Luttinger mechanism or its generalizations and explains or predicts anomalous $p$-, $d$-, and $f$-wave pairing in various materials, such as high-temperature superconductors, the idealized monolayer and bilayer of doped graphene, heavy-fermion systems, layered organic superconductors, superfluid $^3$He, spin-polarized $^3$He mixtures in $^4$He, ultracold quantum gases in magnetic traps, and optical lattices.

The Weyl semimetals are three-dimensional (3D) gapless topological phases with Weyl cones in the bulk band, and host massless quasiparticles known as Weyl fermions which were theorized by Hermann Weyl in the last twenties. The lattice theory constrains that Weyl cones must come in pairs, with the minimal number of cones being two. The semimetal with only two Weyl cones is an ideal Weyl semimetal (IWSM) which is the optimal platform to explore broad Weyl physics but hard to engineer in solids. Here, we report the experimental realization of the IWSM band by synthesising for the first time a 3D spin-orbit (SO) coupling for ultracold atoms. Engineering a 3D configuration-tunable optical Raman lattice, we realize the Weyl-type SO coupling for ultracold quantum gas, with which the IWSM band is achieved with controllability. The topological Weyl points are clearly measured via the virtual slicing imaging technique in equilibrium, and further resolved in the quench dynamics, revealing the key information of the realized IWSM bands. The realization of the IWSM band opens an avenue to investigate various exotic phenomena based on the optimal Weyl semimetal platforms.

We report on the controlled insertion of individual Cs atoms into an ultracold Rb gas at about 400 nK. This requires to combine the techniques necessary for cooling, trapping and manipulating single laser cooled atoms around the Doppler temperature with an experiment to produce ultracold degenerate quantum gases. In our approach, both systems are prepared in separated traps and then combined. Our results pave the way for coherent interaction between a quantum gas and a single or few neutral atoms of another species.

The detection of correlation and response functions plays a crucial role in the experimental characterization of quantum many-body systems. In this thesis, we present novel techniques for the measurement of such functions at the single-particle level. Specifically, we show the single-atom- and single-site-resolved detection of an ultracold quantum gas in an optical lattice. The quantum gas is described by the Bose-Hubbard model, which features a zero temperature phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott-insulating state, a paradigm example of a quantum phase transition. We used the aforementioned detection techniques to study correlation and response properties across the superfluid-Mott-insulator transition. The single-atom sensitivity of our method is achieved by fluorescence detection of individual atoms with a high signal-to-noise ratio. A high-resolution objective collects the fluorescence light and yields in situ `snapshots' of the quantum gas that allow for a single-site-resolved reconstruction of the atomic distribution. This allowed us to measure two-site and non-local correlation-functions across the superfluid-Mott-insulator transition. Non-local correlation functions are based on the information of an extended region of the system and play an important role for the characterization of low-dimensional quantum phases. While non-local correlation functions were so far only theoretical tools, our results show that they are actually experimentally accessible. Furthermore, we used a new thermometry scheme, based on the counting of individual thermal excitations, to measure the response of the system to lattice modulation. Using this method, we studied the excitation spectrum of the system across the two-dimensional superfluid-Mott-insulator transition. In particular, we detected a `Higgs' amplitude mode in the strongly-interacting superfluid close to the transition point where the system is described by an effectively Lorentz-invariant low-energy theory. Our experimental results helped to resolve a debate about the observability of Higgs modes in two-dimensional systems.