Interacting Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices [Elektronische Ressource] / Thorsten Best

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• Physik

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• Publié par: johannes_gutenberg-universitat_mainz
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 8
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Interacting Bose-Fermi mixtures
in optical lattices
Dissertation
zur Erlangung des Grades
Doktor
der Naturwissenschaften
am Fachbereich Physik, Mathematik und Informatik
¨der Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat
in Mainz
Thorsten Best
geboren in Bonn
Mainz, den 11. Oktober 2010D77
1. Berichterstatter:
2. Berichterstatter:
Datum der mundlic hen Prufung: 27. Mai 2011Abstract
In this thesis, we investigate mixtures of quantum degenerate Bose and
Fermi gases of neutral atoms in threedimensional optical lattices. Fesh-
bach resonances allow to control interspecies interactions in these systems
precisely, by preparing suitable combinations of internal atomic states and
applying external magnetic fields. This way, the system behaviour can be
tuned continuously from mutual transparency to strongly interacting cor-
related phases, up to the stability boundary. The starting point for these
investigationsisthespin-polarizedfermionicbandinsulator. Theproperties
of this non-interacting system are fully determined by the Pauli exclusion
principle for the occupation of states in the lattice. A striking demonstra-
tion of the latter can be found in the antibunching of the density-density
correlationofatomsreleasedfromthelattice. Ifbosonicatomsareaddedto
this system, isolated heteronuclear molecules can be formed on the lattice
sites via radio-frequency stimulation. The efficiency of this process hints
at a modification of the atom number distribution over the lattice caused
by interspecies interaction. In the following, we investigate systems with
tunable interspecies interaction. To this end, a method is developed which
allows to assess the various contributions to the system Hamiltonian both
qualitatively and quantitatively by following the quantum phase diffusion
of the bosonic matter wave. Besides a modification of occupation num-
ber statistics, these measurements show a significant renormalization ofthe
bosonic Hubbard parameters. The final part of the thesis considers the im-
plications of this renormalization effect on the many particle physics in the
mixture. Here, we demonstrate how the quantum phase transition from a
bosonic superfluid to a Mott insulator state is shifted towards considerably
shallower lattices due to renormalization.
iZusammenfassung
In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir Mischungen quantenentarteter Bose- und
Fermigase neutraler Atome in dreidimensionalen optischen Gittern. Dabei
erlauben Feshbach-Resonanzen, die Interspezies-Wechselwirkung in diesen
Systemen pra¨zise durch Pr¨aparieren geeigneter Kombinationen atomarer
Zust¨ande und Anlegen externer Magnetfelder zu kontrollieren. Damit l¨asst
sich das Systemverhalten stetig von wechselseitiger Transparenz zu stark
wechselwirkenden korrelierten Phasen bis hin zur Grenze der Stabilit¨at ein-
stellen. DenAusgangspunkt derUntersuchungen bildet der spinpolarisierte
fermionische Bandisolator, einwechselwirkungsfreies System, dessen Eigen-
schaftenalleindurchdasPauli-PrinzipbeiderBesetzung derzurVerfu¨gung
stehenden Zust¨ande im optischen Gitter bestimmt sind, Dieses l¨asst sich
eindrucksvoll anhand des Antibunching in der Dichte-Dichte-Korrelation
aus dem Gitter frei gelassener Atome beobachten. Fu¨gt man dem System
bosonische Atome hinzu, so lassen sich durch Radiofrequenzstimulation auf
den Gitterpl¨atzen isolierte heteronukleare Moleku¨le bilden. Die Effizienz
dieses Prozesses gibt Hinweise darauf, dass die Atomzahlverteilung u¨ber
das Gitter aufgrund der Interspezies-Wechselwirkung deutlich modifiziert
sein ko¨nnte. Im folgenden werden Systeme mit einstellbarer Interspezies-
Wechselwirkung untersucht. Dabei wird zuna¨chst eine Methode entwick-
elt, die unterschiedlichen Beitr¨age des System-Hamilton-Operators anhand
der Quantenphasendiffusion der bosonischen Materiewelle qualitativ und
quantitativ zu erfassen. Dabei zeigt sich neben der Modifikation der Beset-
zungszahlstatistikeinesignifikanteRenormierungderbosonischenHubbard-
¨Parameter. Diese kann anhand der wechselwirkungsinduzierten Anderung
der Wannier-Orbitale verstanden werden. Die Arbeit schließt mit einer
Untersuchung der Auswirkung dieses Renormierungseffekts auf die Viel-
teilchenphysik des Mischungssystems. Dabei wird gezeigt, wie sich der
Quantenphasenu¨bergang zwischen dem bosonischen Superfluid und dem
Mott-Isolator-Zustand aufgrund der Renormierung zu wesentlich flacheren
Gittern hin verschiebt.
iiContents
Introductory remarks v
1 Preparation of ultracold mixtures 1
1.1 Atom sources and laser cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Magnetic trapping and transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Trapping and evaporation of mixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 State preparation and analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5 Ultracold collisions, and tuning via Feshbach resonances . . 24
1.6 Raman interaction switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1.7 Absorption imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2 Noninteracting ultracold atoms in optical lattices 43
2.1 Blue-detuned optical lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.2 Band structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.3 Non-interacting quantum gases in optical lattices . . . . . . 52
2.4 A Hanbury-Brown Twiss experiment with free Fermions . . 53
2.5 Heteronuclear long-range molecules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3 Physics of Bose-Fermi Hubbard systems 71
3.1 The Wannier picture and Hubbard’s model . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2 Self-consistent Wannier functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.3 Predictions based on the Bose-Fermi Hubbard model . . . . 90
4 Probing interaction effects via quantum phase diffusion 97
4.1 Quantum phase diffusion of the macroscopic matter wave . . 97
4.2 Changing the interaction energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.3 Probing interaction-induced changes of filling . . . . . . . . . 103
4.4 QPD at varying interspecies scattering length . . . . . . . . 105
4.5 Probing co-occupation of sites by heterodyne QPD . . . . . 105
4.6 Analysis of Fourier components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
iiiSummary
5 Role of interspecies interactions in the many-body system 113
5.1 Symmetry between attractive and repulsive interactions . . . 113
5.2 Previous experimental work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
5.3 Experimental sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
5.4 Visibility of bosonic interference pattern mixture . . . . . . . 116
5.5 Reversibility and the role of loss processes . . . . . . . . . . 118
5.6 Shift of the superfluid to Mott insulator transition . . . . . . 123
5.7 Phase demixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
6 An outlook 133
Appendix 137
87 40A: Some properties of Rb and K atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
B: Hyperfine structure in magnetic fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
C: Laser systems for cooling and imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
D: Optical lattice setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Bibliography 145
ivIntroductory remarks
Degenerate Bose-Fermi mixtures
In recent years, quantum physics has made remarkable progress on the way
from a somewhat obscure way of calculating properties of the microcosm,
to mainstream technology. Manifestly quantum systems can nowadays be
prepared in many laboratories all around the world, they can be manipu-
latedcoherently, and theirbehaviour can beanalyzed ingreatdetail. Much
has been learned from these systems about basic ingredients of quantum
physics, such as superposition, coherence, entanglement and many more.
Interacting quantum many-body systems are of special interest in this con-
text, due to the striking effects that strong correlations of the components
may have on the behaviour of the total system. The new field of quan-
tum simulation has emerged in this context, which aims at gaining under-
standing about many-body quantum systems with strong correlations from
experiments under suitably tailored and well-controlled conditions, where
reliable approximative theoretical treatments are rare, and full numerical
calculations hit the wall of practical feasibility in terms of computational
complexity.
The ability to experimentally create and control such quantum systems
is strongly linked to the progress in the field of cooling and trapping of
neutral atoms in recent years. Ultracold atoms seem to be ideal candidates
for quantum simulation, as they allow to reproducibly prepare systems of
adjustable size, ranging from the single-particle level all the way to truly
mesoscopic samples. Furthermore, they offer enough internal degrees of
freedom to build highly nontrivial model systems, yet still few enough to
maintainfullcontrolovertheinitialquantumstateofthesystem. Evenbet-
ter,theyoftencomewithtunableinteractions,andtheassociatedtimescales
are very convenient from an experimental point of view. Finally, a well-
equipped toolbox of manipulation and detection techniques exists for these
systems, while new methods allowing for ever more insight are still being
vIntroductory remarks
developed on a regular basis.
An additional twist has been added to the field with the introduction of
optical lattices, which are period