arXiv subjects

Christian Gross

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Gross.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Dissipationless tune-out trapping for a lanthanide-alkali quantum gas mixture

Quantum gas mixtures offer a wide field of research, ranging from few-body physics of impurities to many-body physics with emergent long-range interactions and ultracold molecular gases. Achieving precision control of mixtures is much harder than for single-component gases and, consequently, the respective techniques are less developed. Here we report on a decisive step forward in this direction by realizing dissipationless and fully differential optical control of the motional degrees of freedom of one of the species without affecting the other. This is achieved in a novel Bose-Fermi mixture with extreme mass imbalance, erbium-166 and lithium-6. Our experiments pave the way to a new generation of precision many-body experiments with quantum gas mixtures with unprecedented long lifetimes and low temperatures.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Long-term stable laser injection locking for quasi-CW applications

Generating high output powers while achieving narrow line single mode lasing are often mutual exclusive properties of commercial laser diodes. For this reason, efficient and scalable amplification of narrow line laser light is still a major driving point in modern laser system designs. Commonly, injection locking of high-power semiconductor laser diodes are used for this purpose. However, for many laser diodes it is very challenging to achieve stable operation of the injection locked state due to a complex interplay of non-linearities and thermal effects. Different approaches of active or passive stabilization usually require a large overhead of optical and electrical equipment and are not generally applicable. In our work we present a passive stabilization scheme, that is generally applicable, technically easy to implement and extremely cost-effective. It is based on the externally synchronized automatic acquisition of the optimal injection state. Central to our simple but powerful scheme is the management of thermalization effects during lock acquisition. By periodical relocking, spectrally pure amplified light is maintained in a quasi-CW manner over long timescales. We characterize the performance of our method for laser diodes amplifying 671 nm light and demonstrate the general applicability by confirming the method to work also for laser diodes at 401 nm, 461 nm and 689 nm. Our scheme enables the scaled operation of injection locks, even in cascaded setups, for the distributed amplification of single frequency laser light.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Ancilla-free measurement of out-of-time-ordered correlation functions: General measurement protocol and Rydberg atom implementation

We introduce a protocol that gives access to out-of-time-ordered correlation functions in many-body quantum systems. Unlike other such protocols, our proposal, which can be applied to arbitrary initial states, neither requires ancilla degrees of freedom to the quantum system of interest, nor has the need for randomized measurements. Nontrivial experimental capabilities required to implement the protocol are single-site measurements, single-site rotations, and backwards time evolution. To exemplify the implementation of the protocol, we put forward a strategy for Hamiltonian sign inversion $H\to-H$ in arrays of Rydberg-dressed atoms. In this way, a complete and practical toolbox is obtained for the measurement of out-of-time-ordered correlations in equilibrium and nonequilibrium situations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Dark Matter abundance via thermal decays and leptoquark mediators

We explore a new mechanism for reproducing the Dark Matter (DM) abundance: scatterings of one DM particle on light Standard Model particles. Strong bounds on its decays can be satisfied if DM undergoes freeze-in and has a mass around or below the pion mass. This happens, for example, in theories with a right-handed neutrino interacting with charged fermions through a leptoquark exchange. These leptoquarks can be linked to the ones motivated by the B-physics anomalies if assumptions about the flavour structure are made. DM signals are unusual, with interesting possibilities for direct and indirect detection. Achieving thermal freeze-out instead requires models with more than one DM flavour, and couplings parametrically smaller than what needed by the usual pair annihilations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Spatially tunable spin interactions in neutral atom arrays

Analog quantum simulations with Rydberg atoms in optical tweezers routinely address strongly correlated many-body problems due to the hardware-efficient implementation of the Hamiltonian. Yet, their generality is limited, and flexible Hamiltonian-design techniques are needed to widen the scope of these simulators. Here we report on the realization of spatially tunable interactions for XYZ models implemented by two-color near-resonant coupling to Rydberg pair states. Our results demonstrate the unique opportunities of Rydberg dressing for Hamiltonian design in analog quantum simulators.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Dark Matter as dark dwarfs and other macroscopic objects: multiverse relics?

First-order phase transitions can leave relic pockets of false vacua and their particles, that manifest as macroscopic Dark Matter. We compute one predictive model: a gauge theory with a dark quark relic heavier than the confinement scale. During the first-order phase transition to confinement, dark quarks remain in the false vacuum and get compressed, forming Fermi balls that can undergo gravitational collapse to stable dark dwarfs (bound states analogous to white dwarfs) near the Chandrasekhar limit, or to primordial black holes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Realizing distance-selective interactions in a Rydberg-dressed atom array

Measurement-based quantum computing relies on the rapid creation of large-scale entanglement in a register of stable qubits. Atomic arrays are well suited to store quantum information, and entanglement can be created using highly-excited Rydberg states. Typically, isolating pairs during gate operation is difficult because Rydberg interactions feature long tails at large distances. Here, we engineer distance-selective interactions that are strongly peaked in distance through off-resonant laser coupling of molecular potentials between Rydberg atom pairs. Employing quantum gas microscopy, we verify the dressed interactions by observing correlated phase evolution using many-body Ramsey interferometry. We identify atom loss and coupling to continuum modes as a limitation of our present scheme and outline paths to mitigate these effects, paving the way towards the creation of large-scale entanglement.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Realising the Symmetry-Protected Haldane Phase in Fermi-Hubbard Ladders

Topology in quantum many-body systems has profoundly changed our understanding of quantum phases of matter. The paradigmatic model that has played an instrumental role in elucidating these effects is the antiferromagnetic spin-1 Haldane chain. Its ground state is a disordered state, with symmetry-protected fourfold-degenerate edge states due to fractional spin excitations. In the bulk, it is characterised by vanishing two-point spin correlations, gapped excitations, and a characteristic non-local order parameter. More recently it was understood that the Haldane chain forms a specific example of a more general classification scheme of symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases of matter that is based on ideas connecting to quantum information and entanglement. Here, we realise such a topological Haldane phase with Fermi-Hubbard ladders in an ultracold-atom quantum simulator. We directly reveal both edge and bulk properties of the system through the use of single-site and particle-resolved measurements as well as non-local correlation functions. Continuously changing the Hubbard interaction strength of the system allows us to investigate the robustness of the phase to charge (density) fluctuations far from the regime of the Heisenberg model employing a novel correlator.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Scalar gauge dynamics and Dark Matter

We consider theories with one gauge group (SU, SO or Sp) and one scalar in a two-index representation. The renormalizable action often has accidental symmetries (such as global U(1) or unusual group parities) that lead to one or more stable states, providing Dark Matter candidates. We discuss the confined phase(s) of each theory and compute the two Higgs phases, finding no generic dualities among them. Discrete gauge symmetries can arise and accidental symmetries can be broken, possibly giving pseudo-Goldstone Dark Matter. Dark Matter candidates can have a complicated sub-structure characteristic of each group and can be accompanied by extra dark radiation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Black-body radiation induced facilitated excitation of Rydberg atoms in optical tweezers

Black-body radiation, omnipresent at room temperature, couples nearby Rydberg states. The resulting state mixture features strong dipolar interactions, which may induce dephasing in a Rydberg many-body system. Here we report on a single atom resolved study of this state contamination and the emerging pairwise interactions in optical tweezers. For near-resonant laser detuning we observe characteristic correlations with a length scale set by the dipolar interaction. Our study reveals the microscopic origin of avalanche excitation observed in previous experiments.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2021

Is negative kinetic energy meta-stable?

We explore the possibility that theories with negative kinetic energy (ghosts) can be meta-stable up to cosmologically long times. In classical mechanics, ghosts undergo spontaneous lockdown rather than run-away if weakly-coupled and non-resonant. Physical examples of this phenomenon are shown. In quantum mechanics this leads to meta-stability similar to vacuum decay. In classical field theory, lockdown is broken by resonances and ghosts behave statistically, drifting towards infinite entropy as no thermal equilibrium exists. We analytically and numerically compute the run-away rate finding that it is cosmologically slow in 4-derivative gravity, where ghosts have gravitational interactions only. In quantum field theory the ghost run-away rate is naively infinite in perturbation theory, analogously to what found in early attempts to compute vacuum tunnelling; we do not know the true rate.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

On the Globalization of ASPIN Employing Trust-Region Control Strategies -- Convergence Analysis and Numerical Examples

The parallel solution of large scale non-linear programming problems, which arise for example from the discretization of non-linear partial differential equations, is a highly demanding task. Here, a novel solution strategy is presented, which is inherently parallel and globally convergent. Each global non-linear iteration step consists of asynchronous solutions of local non-linear programming problems followed by a global recombination step. The recombination step, which is the solution of a quadratic programming problem, is designed in a way such that it ensures global convergence. As it turns out, the new strategy can be considered as a globalized additively preconditioned inexact Newton (ASPIN) method. However, in our approach the influence of ASPIN's non-linear preconditioner on the gradient is controlled in order to ensure a sufficient decrease condition. Two different control strategies are described and analyzed. Convergence to first-order critical points of our non-linear solution strategy is shown under standard trust-region assumptions. The strategy is investigated along difficult minimization problems arising from non-linear elasticity in 3D solved on a massively parallel computer with several thousand cores.

math.NA↗

arXiv2021

Gravitational Vector Dark Matter

A new dark sector consisting of a pure non-abelian gauge theory has no renormalizable interaction with SM particles, and can thereby realise gravitational Dark Matter (DM). Gauge interactions confine at a scale $Λ_{\rm DM}$ giving bound states with typical lifetimes $τ\sim M_{\rm Pl}^4/Λ^5_{\rm DM}$ that can be DM candidates if $Λ_{\rm DM} $ is below 100 TeV. Furthermore, accidental symmetries of group-theoretical nature produce special gravitationally stable bound states. In the presence of generic Planck-suppressed operators such states become long-lived: SU$(N)$ gauge theories contain bound states with $τ\sim M_{\rm Pl}^8/Λ^9_{\rm DM}$; even longer lifetimes $τ= (M_{\rm Pl}/Λ_{\rm DM})^{2N-4}/Λ_{\rm DM}$ arise from SO$(N)$ theories with $N \ge 8$, and possibly from $F_4$ or $E_8$. We compute their relic abundance generated by gravitational freeze-in and by inflationary fluctuations, finding that they can be viable DM candidates for $Λ_{\rm DM} \gtrsim 10^{10}$ GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Raman Sideband Cooling in Optical Tweezer Arrays for Rydberg Dressing

Single neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers and laser-coupled to Rydberg states provide a fast and flexible platform to generate configurable atomic arrays for quantum simulation. The platform is especially suited to study quantum spin systems in various geometries. However, for experiments requiring continuous trapping, inhomogeneous light shifts induced by the trapping potential and temperature broadening impose severe limitations. Here we show how Raman sideband cooling allows one to overcome those limitations, thus, preparing the stage for Rydberg dressing in tweezer arrays.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2020

Quantum gas microscopy for single atom and spin detection

A particular strength of ultracold quantum gases are the versatile detection methods available. Since they are based on atom-light interactions, the whole quantum optics toolbox can be used to tailor the detection process to the specific scientific question to be explored in the experiment. Common methods include time-of-flight measurements to access the momentum distribution of the gas, the use of cavities to monitor global properties of the quantum gas with minimal disturbance and phase-contrast or high-intensity absorption imaging to obtain local real space information in high-density settings. Even the ultimate limit of detecting each and every atom locally has been realized in two-dimensions using so-called quantum gas microscopes. In fact, these microscopes not only revolutionized the detection, but also the control of lattice gases. Here we provide a short overview of this technique, highlighting new observables as well as key experiments that have been enabled by quantum gas microscopy.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Microscopic electronic structure tomography of Rydberg macrodimers

Precise control and study of molecules is challenging due to the variety of internal degrees of freedom and local coordinates that are typically not controlled in an experiment. Employing quantum gas microscopy to position and resolve the atoms in Rydberg macrodimer states solves almost all of these challenges and enables unique access to the molecular frame. Here, we demonstrate the power of this approach and present first photoassociation studies for different molecular symmetries in which the molecular orientation relative to an applied magnetic field, the polarization of the excitation light and the initial atomic state are fully controlled. The observed characteristic dependencies allow for an electronic structure tomography of the molecular state. We additionally observe an orientation-dependent Zeeman shift and reveal a significant influence on it caused by the hyperfine interaction of the macrodimer state. Finally, we demonstrate controlled engineering of the electrostatic binding potential by opening a gap in the energetic vicinity of two crossing pair potentials.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2020

Microscopic evolution of doped Mott insulators from polaronic metal to Fermi liquid

The competition between antiferromagnetism and hole motion in two-dimensional Mott insulators lies at the heart of a doping-dependent transition from an anomalous metal to a conventional Fermi liquid. Condensed matter experiments suggest charge carriers change their nature within this crossover, but a complete understanding remains elusive. We observe such a crossover in Fermi-Hubbard systems on a cold-atom quantum simulator and reveal the transformation of multi-point correlations between spins and holes upon increasing doping at temperatures around the superexchange energy. Conventional observables, such as spin susceptibility, are furthermore computed from the microscopic snapshots of the system. Starting from a magnetic polaron regime, we find the system evolves into a Fermi liquid featuring incommensurate magnetic fluctuations and fundamentally altered correlations. The crossover is completed for hole dopings around $30\%$. Our work benchmarks theoretical approaches and discusses possible connections to lower temperature phenomena.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Multi-Higgs Boson Probes of the Dark Sector

We consider dark sectors with spontaneously broken gauge symmetries, where cascade decays of the dark sector fields naturally produce multi-Higgs boson final states along with dark matter. Our study focuses on two and three Higgs boson final states with missing energy using a multivariate analysis with Boosted Decision Trees. We find that the di-Higgs boson channel is quite promising for the $\bar b b + γγ$ and $\bar b b + \bar \ell \ell$ decay modes. The tri-Higgs boson final state with missing energy, on the other hand, appears to be beyond the reach of the LHC in analogous channels. This may change when fully hadronic Higgs boson decays are considered.

hep-ph↗