Studying emergent phenomena driven by interactions in a momentum-space lattice
Abstract
This project will use ultracold atomic gases – collections of neutral atoms cooled a billion timesbelow room temperature by laser light and collisions – as a highly controllable laboratory foraddressing outstanding questions in modern condensed matter physics. We will harness the purityof atomic gases to create versatile quantum systems that behaves analogously to electronicmaterials, where the system properties may be dialed in through spectroscopic control. We willuse this unique ability to create designer “materials” to investigate open questions concerningelectronic transport in disordered systems and in topological phases – i.e., phases defined not bylocal symmetries but rather by global properties of the state’s quantum wave function. Combinedwith novel long-ranged interactions, this platform also promises to realize entirely new states ofmatter without solid-state analogs.Our research group has developed a quantum simulation platform, based on the controlledinteraction of ultracold atoms with interfering laser fields, that is uniquely well-suited for thesimulation of disordered and topological systems. Our atoms play the role of electrons in a solidstate system, and their transport properties are not defined by fixed material properties, but throughour precise control of laser fields. We will use this system, which also hosts long-ranged nonlinearinteractions, to explore emergent phenomena driven by interactions in disordered and topologicallattices. We will focus on the exploration of new quantum phases, the creation of collectiveexcitations in topological lattices, studies of many-body localization in tailored disorder, andexploring interaction-driven entanglement for quantum-enhanced metrology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810082
Entities
People
- Bryce Gadway
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign