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J. Hecker Denschlag

Publications and source records attributed to J. Hecker Denschlag.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2023

Hollow-core fiber for single-mode, low loss transmission of broadband UV light

We report on an anti-resonant hollow-core fiber (AR-HCF) designed for stable transmission of laser light in a broad wavelength range of 250 nm to 450 nm. We tested for wavelengths of 300 nm and 320 nm. The characterized fiber shows a low transmission power attenuation of 0.13 dB/m and an excellent single-mode profile. The fiber maintains stable transmission after an exposure of tens of hours with up to 60 mW CW-laser light and shows no indication of solarization effects. We further tested its performance under bending and observed a small critical bending radius of about 6 cm. These characteristics make the presented fiber a useful tool for many applications, especially in quantum optics labs where it may be instrumental to improve on stability and compactness.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2019

Pair correlations in the normal phase of an attractive Fermi gas

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. A 99, 053617 (2019)], the total number of fermion pairs in a spin-balanced two-component Fermi gas of $^6$Li atoms was experimentally probed in the normal phase above the superfluid critical temperature, in order to investigate the sectors of pseudogap and preformed-pair in the temperature-coupling phase diagram. Here, we present a theoretical account of these experimental results in terms of an ab-initio self-consistent $t$-matrix calculation, which emphasizes the role of the pair-correlation function between opposite-spin fermions at equilibrium. Good agreement is found between the available experimental data and the theoretical results obtained with no adjustable parameter.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2013

Minimization of ion micromotion using ultracold atomic probes

We report on a new sensitive method to minimize excess micromotion of an ion in a Paul trap. The ion is placed in an ultracold cloud of neutral Rb atoms in which ionic micromotion induces atomic losses and heating. Micromotion is minimized by applying static electric offset fields such that both loss and heating are minimized. We achieve a compensation precision as high as the best compensation methods to date. In contrast to these methods, our scheme is applicable even for ions that cannot be optically probed. Furthermore, our method avoids the formation of temporary patch charges which are a main issue for the long-term stability of micromotion minimization.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2011

Pairing-gap, pseudo-gap, and no-gap phases in the radio-frequency spectra of a trapped unitary 6Li gas

Radio frequency spectra of a trapped unitary 6Li gas are reported and analyzed in terms of a theoretical approach that includes both final-state and trap effects. Final-state effects play a crucial role in evidencing two main peaks both above and below the critical temperature Tc as being associated with two distinct phases that reside in different trap regions. These are the pairing-gap and pseudo-gap phases below Tc, which evolve into the pseudo-gap and no-gap phases above Tc. In this way, a long standing puzzle about the interpretation of rf spectra for 6Li in a trap is solved.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2011

Hyperfine, rotational and Zeeman structure of the lowest vibrational levels of the $^{87}$Rb$_2$ $\tripletex$ state

We present the results of an experimental and theoretical study of the electronically excited $\tripletex$ state of $^{87}$Rb$_2$ molecules. The vibrational energies are measured for deeply bound states from the bottom up to $v'=15$ using laser spectroscopy of ultracold Rb$_2$ Feshbach molecules. The spectrum of each vibrational state is dominated by a 47\,GHz splitting into a $\cog$ and $\clg$ component caused mainly by a strong second order spin-orbit interaction. Our spectroscopy fully resolves the rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure of the spectrum. We are able to describe to first order this structure using a simplified effective Hamiltonian.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2010

Superfluid Quenching of the Moment of Inertia in a Strongly Interacting Fermi Gas

We report on the observation of a quenched moment of inertia as resulting from superfluidity in a strongly interacting Fermi gas. Our method is based on setting the hydrodynamic gas in slow rotation and determining its angular momentum by detecting the precession of a radial quadrupole excitation. The measurements distinguish between the superfluid or collisional origin of hydrodynamic behavior, and show the phase transition.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2009

Lifetime of angular momentum in a rotating strongly interacting Fermi gas

We investigate the lifetime of angular momentum in an ultracold strongly interacting Fermi gas, confined in a trap with controllable ellipticity. To determine the angular momentum we measure the precession of the radial quadrupole mode. We find that in the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance the deeply hydrodynamic behavior in the normal phase leads to a very long lifetime of the angular momentum. Furthermore, we examine the dependence of the decay rate of the angular momentum on the ellipticity of the trapping potential and the interaction strength. The results are in general agreement with the theoretically expected behavior for a Boltzmann gas.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2008

Collective oscillations of a Fermi gas in the unitarity limit: Temperature effects and the role of pair correlations

We present detailed measurements of the frequency and damping of three different collective modes in an ultracold trapped Fermi gas of $^6$Li atoms with resonantly tuned interactions. The measurements are carried out over a wide range of temperatures. We focus on the unitarity limit, where the scattering length is much greater than all other relevant length scales. The results are compared to theoretical calculations that take into account Pauli blocking and pair correlations in the normal state above the critical temperature for superfluidity. We show that these two effects nearly compensate each other and the behavior of the gas is close to the one of a classical gas.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2008

Ultracold Molecules in the Ro-Vibrational Triplet Ground State

We report here on the production of an ultracold gas of tightly bound Rb2 molecules in the ro-vibrational triplet ground state, close to quantum degeneracy. This is achieved by optically transferring weakly bound Rb2 molecules to the absolute lowest level of the ground triplet potential with a transfer efficiency of about 90%. The transfer takes place in a 3D optical lattice which traps a sizeable fraction of the tightly bound molecules with a lifetime exceeding 200 ms.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

Cruising through molecular bound state manifolds with radio frequency

The emerging field of ultracold molecules with their rich internal structure is currently attracting a lot of interest. Various methods have been developed to produce ultracold molecules in pre-set quantum states. For future experiments it will be important to efficiently transfer these molecules from their initial quantum state to other quantum states of interest. Optical Raman schemes are excellent tools for transfer, but can be involved in terms of equipment, laser stabilization and finding the right transitions. Here we demonstrate a very general and simple way for transfer of molecules from one quantum state to a neighboring quantum state with better than 99% efficiency. The scheme is based on Zeeman tuning the molecular state to avoided level crossings where radio-frequency transitions can then be carried out. By repeating this process at different crossings, molecules can be successively transported through a large manifold of quantum states. As an important spin-off of our experiments, we demonstrate a high-precision spectroscopy method for investigating level crossings.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

Dynamics of a strongly interacting Fermi gas: the radial quadrupole mode

We report on measurements of an elementary surface mode in an ultracold, strongly interacting Fermi gas of 6Li atoms. The radial quadrupole mode allows us to probe hydrodynamic behavior in the BEC-BCS crossover without being influenced by changes in the equation of state. We examine frequency and damping of this mode, along with its expansion dynamics. In the unitarity limit and on the BEC side of the resonance, the observed frequencies agree with standard hydrodynamic theory. However, on the BCS side of the crossover, a striking down shift of the oscillation frequency is observed in the hydrodynamic regime as a precursor to an abrupt transition to collisionless behavior; this indicates coupling of the oscillation to fermionic pairs.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2007

Finite-Temperature Collective Dynamics of a Fermi Gas in the BEC-BCS Crossover

We report on experimental studies on the collective behavior of a strongly interacting Fermi gas with tunable interactions and variable temperature. A scissors mode excitation in an elliptical trap is used to characterize the dynamics of the quantum gas in terms of hydrodynamic or near-collisionless behavior. We obtain a crossover phase diagram for collisional properties, showing a large region where a non-superfluid strongly interacting gas shows hydrodynamic behavior. In a narrow interaction regime on the BCS side of the crossover, we find a novel temperature-dependent damping peak, suggesting a relation to the superfluid phase transition.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2006

Precision Measurements of Collective Oscillations in the BEC-BCS Crossover

We report on precision measurements of the frequency of the radial compression mode in a strongly interacting, optically trapped Fermi gas of Li-6 atoms. Our results allow for a test of theoretical predictions for the equation of state in the BEC-BCS crossover. We confirm recent quantum Monte-Carlo results and rule out simple mean-field BCS theory. Our results show the long-sought beyond-mean-field effects in the strongly interacting BEC regime.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2006

Coherent optical transfer of Feshbach molecules to a lower vibrational state

Using the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) we have coherently transferred ultracold 87Rb2 Feshbach molecules into a more deeply bound vibrational quantum level. Our measurements indicate a high transfer efficiency of up to 87%. As the molecules are held in an optical lattice with not more than a single molecule per lattice site, inelastic collisions between the molecules are suppressed and we observe long molecular lifetimes of about 1 s. Using STIRAP we have created quantum superpositions of the two molecular states and tested their coherence interferometrically. These results represent an important step towards Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of molecules in the vibrational ground state.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2006

Exotic atom pairs: Repulsively bound states in an optical lattice

We review a recent experiment with ultracold atoms in 3D optical lattices where we have observed a novel kind of bound state of two atoms which is based on repulsive interactions between the particles. These repulsively bound pairs exhibit long lifetimes, even under conditions when they collide with one another. Stable repulsively bound objects should be viewed as a general phenomenon and their existence will be ubiquitous in cold atoms lattice physics. Although the experiment described here is based on bosonic Rb atoms, other composites with fermions or Bose-Fermi mixtures should exist in an analogous manner. Furthermore, repulsively bound objects could also be formed with more than two particles. In the following we will first explain the theoretical background of repulsively atom pairs. Afterwards we will present the experiments which demonstrate several key properties of the pairs. Finally we give a short discussion of how these repulsively bound pairs relate to bound states in some other physical systems.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2006

Repulsively bound atom pairs: Overview, Simulations and Links

We review the basic physics of repulsively bound atom pairs in an optical lattice, which were recently observed in the laboratory, including the theory and the experimental implementation. We also briefly discuss related many-body numerical simulations, in which time-dependent Density Matrix Renormalisation Group (DMRG) methods are used to model the many-body physics of a collection of interacting pairs, and give a comparison of the single-particle quasimomentum distribution measured in the experiment and results from these simulations. We then give a short discussion of how these repulsively bound pairs relate to bound states in some other physical systems.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2006

Repulsively bound atom pairs in an optical lattice

Throughout physics, stable composite objects are usually formed via attractive forces, which allow the constituents to lower their energy by binding together. Repulsive forces separate particles in free space. However, in a structured environment such as a periodic potential and in the absence of dissipation, stable composite objects can exist even for repulsive interactions. Here we report on the first observation of such an exotic bound state, comprised of a pair of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Consistent with our theoretical analysis, these repulsively bound pairs exhibit long lifetimes, even under collisions with one another. Signatures of the pairs are also recognised in the characteristic momentum distribution and through spectroscopic measurements. There is no analogue in traditional condensed matter systems of such repulsively bound pairs, due to the presence of strong decay channels. These results exemplify on a new level the strong correspondence between the optical lattice physics of ultracold bosonic atoms and the Bose-Hubbard model, a correspondence which is vital for future applications of these systems to the study of strongly correlated condensed matter systems and to quantum information.

cond-mat.other↗