arXiv subjects

Luis Santos

Publications and source records attributed to Luis Santos.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Detecting multiparticle entanglement of Dicke states

Recent experiments demonstrate the production of many thousands of neutral atoms entangled in their spin degrees of freedom. We present a criterion for estimating the amount of entanglement based on a measurement of the global spin. It outperforms previous criteria and applies to a wide class of entangled states, including Dicke states. Experimentally, we produce a Dicke-like state using spin dynamics in a Bose-Einstein condensate. Our criterion proves that it contains at least genuine 28-particle entanglement. We infer a generalized squeezing parameter of -11.4(5) dB.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Simulating an interacting gauge theory with ultracold Bose gases

We show how density dependent gauge potentials can be induced in dilute gases of ultracold atoms using light-matter interactions. We study the effect of the resulting interacting gauge theory and show how it gives rise to novel topological states in the ultracold gas. We find in particular that the onset of persistent currents in a ring geometry is governed by a critical number of particles. The density-dependent gauge potential is also found to support chiral solitons in a quasi-one-dimensional ultracold Bose gas.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Non-equilibrium quantum magnetism in a dipolar lattice gas

Research on quantum magnetism with ultra-cold gases in optical lattices is expected to open fascinating perspectives for the understanding of fundamental problems in condensed-matter physics. Here we report on the first realization of quantum magnetism using a degenerate dipolar gas in an optical lattice. In contrast to their non-dipolar counterparts, dipolar lattice gases allow for inter-site spin-spin interactions without relying on super-exchange energies, which constitutes a great advantage for the study of spin lattice models. In this paper we show that a chromium gas in a 3D lattice realizes a lattice model resembling the celebrated t-J model, which is characterized by a non-equilibrium spinor dynamics resulting from inter-site Heisenberg-like spin-spin interactions provided by non-local dipole-dipole interactions. Moreover, due to its large spin, chromium lattice gases constitute an excellent environment for the study of quantum magnetism of high-spin systems, as illustrated by the complex spin dynamics observed for doubly-occupied sites.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Polar bosons in one-dimensional disordered optical lattices

We analyze the effects of disorder and quasi-disorder on the ground-state properties of ultra-cold polar bosons in optical lattices. We show that the interplay between disorder and inter-site interactions leads to rich phase diagrams. A uniform disorder leads to a Haldane-insulator phase with finite parity order, whereas the density-wave phase becomes a Bose-glass at very weak disorder. For quasi-disorder, the Haldane insulator connects with a gapped generalized incommesurate density wave without an intermediate critical region.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Thermal spin fluctuations in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We study the thermal activation of spin fluctuations in dynamically-stable spinor Bose-Einstein condensates. We analyze the specific cases of a non-dipolar spin-1 condensate in m = 0, where thermal activation results from spin-changing collisions, and of a Chromium condensate in the maximally stretched state m = -3, where thermal spin fluctuations are due to dipole-induced spin- relaxation. In both cases, we show that the low energy associated to the spinor physics may be employed for thermometry purposes down to extremely low temperatures, typically impossible to measure in BECs with usual thermometric techniques. Moreover, the peculiar dependence of the system's entropy with the applied Zeeman energy opens a possible route for adiabatic cooling.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Ultracold Lattice Gases with Periodically Modulated Interactions

We show that a time-dependent magnetic field inducing a periodically modulated scattering length may lead to interesting novel scenarios for cold gases in optical lattices, characterized by a nonlinear hopping depending on the number difference at neighboring sites. We discuss the rich physics introduced by this hopping, including pair superfluidity, exactly defect-free Mott-insulator states for finite hopping, and pure holon and doublon superfluids. We also address experimental detection, showing that the introduced nonlinear hopping may lead in harmonically trapped gases to abrupt drops in the density profile marking the interface between different superfluid regions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Faraday patterns in coupled one-dimensional dipolar condensates

We study Faraday patterns in quasi-one-dimensional dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates with parametrically driven dipolar interactions. We show that in the presence of a roton minimum in the excitation spectrum, the emergent Faraday waves differ substantially in two- and one-dimensional geometries, providing a clear example of the key role of confinement dimensionality in dipolar gases. Moreover, Faraday patterns constitute an excellent tool to study non-local effects in polar gases, as we illustrate for two parallel quasi-one-dimensional dipolar condensates. Non-local interactions between the condensates give rise to an excitation spectrum characterized by symmetric and anti-symmetric modes, even in the absence of hopping. We show that this feature, absent in non-dipolar gases, results in a critical driving frequency at which a marked transition occurs between correlated and anti-correlated Faraday patterns in the two condensates. Interestingly, at this critical frequency, the emergent Faraday pattern stems from a spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Soliton Molecules In Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates

Dipolar interactions support the formation of inter-site soliton molecules in a stack of quasi-1D traps. We show that the stability and properties of individual solitons, and soliton molecules in such a geometry crucially depend on the interplay between contact and dipolar interactions. In particular, two different quasi-1D soliton regimes are possible: a 1D soliton characterized by purely repulsive DDI and a 3D soliton for which a sufficiently large dipole moment renders the DDI attractive. Furthermore, we find that contrary to the case of dimers of polar molecules, the soliton dimers exhibit a nontrivial behavior of the elementary excitations that stems from the competition between on-site and inter-site DDI. Finally, we prove the existence of soliton trimers in a regime where molecular trimers do not occur. We demonstrate that the soliton molecules that we report are well feasible under realistic experimental conditions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Twin matter waves for interferometry beyond the classical limit

Interferometers with atomic ensembles constitute an integral part of modern precision metrology. However, these interferometers are fundamentally restricted by the shot noise limit, which can only be overcome by creating quantum entanglement among the atoms. We used spin dynamics in Bose-Einstein condensates to create large ensembles of up to $10^4$ pair-correlated atoms with an interferometric sensitivity $-1.61^{+0.98}_{-1.1}$ dB beyond the shot noise limit. Our proof-of-principle results point the way toward a new generation of atom interferometers.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Spontaneous Crystallization And Filamentation Of Solitons In Dipolar Condensates

Inter-site interactions play a crucial role in polar gases in optical lattices even in the absence of hopping. We show that due to these long-range interactions a destabilized stack of quasi-one dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates develops a correlated modulational instability in the non-overlapping sites. Interestingly, this density pattern may evolve spontaneously into soliton filaments or a crystal of solitons that can be so created for the first time in ultra-cold gases. These self-assembled structures may be observed under realistic conditions within current experimental feasibilities.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Trapped two-dimensional condensates with synthetic spin-orbit coupling

We study trapped 2D atomic Bose-Einstein condensates with spin-independent interactions in the presence of an isotropic spin-orbit coupling, showing that a rich physics results from the non-trivial interplay between spin-orbit coupling, confinement and inter-atomic interactions. For low interactions two types of half-vortex solutions with different winding occur, whereas strong-enough repulsive interactions result in a stripe-phase similar to that predicted for homogeneous condensates. Intermediate interaction regimes are characterized for large enough spin-orbit coupling by an hexagonally-symmetric phase with a triangular lattice of density minima similar to that observed in rapidly rotating condensates.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Entanglement spectrum of one-dimensional extended Bose-Hubbard models

The entanglement spectrum provides crucial information about correlated quantum systems. We show that the study of the block-like nature of the reduced density matrix in number sectors and the partition dependence of the spectrum in finite systems leads to interesting unexpected insights, which we illustrate for the case of a 1D extended Hubbard model. We show that block symmetry provides an intuitive understanding of the spectral double degeneracy of the Haldane-insulator, revealing as well partial double degeneracy for the Mott-insulator. Moreover, surprisingly, the partition dependence of the spectral degeneracy in the Haldane- and Mott-insulator is directly linked to the, in principle unrelated, density-density correlations, and presents an intriguing periodic behavior in superfluid and supersolid phases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Two-dimensional scattering and bound states of polar molecules in bilayers

Low-energy two-dimensional scattering is particularly sensitive to the existence and properties of weakly-bound states. We show that interaction potentials $V(r)$ with vanishing zero-momentum Born approximation $\int d^2r V(r)=0$ lead to an anomalously weak bound state which crucially modifies the two-dimensional scattering properties. This anomalous case is especially relevant in the context of polar molecules in bilayer arrangements.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Mesoscopic ensembles of polar bosons in triple-well potentials

Mesoscopic dipolar Bose gases in triple-well potentials offer a minimal system for the analysis of the long-range character of the dipole-dipole interactions. We show that this long-range character may be clearly revealed by a variety of possible ground-state phases. In addition, an appropriate control of short-range and dipolar interactions may lead to novel scenarios for the dynamics of atoms and polar molecules in lattices, including the dynamical creation of mesoscopic Schrödinger cats, which may be employed as a source of highly-nonclassical states for Heisenberg-limited interferometry.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Mott-insulator phases of spin-3/2 fermions in the presence of quadratic Zeeman coupling

We study the influence of the quadratic Zeeman effect in the Mott-insulator phases of hard-core spin-3/2 fermions. We show that contrary to spinor bosons, any quadratic Zeeman coupling preserves a $SU(2)\otimes SU(2)$ symmetry, leading for large-enough quadratic Zeeman coupling to an isotropic pseudo-spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. Depending on the scattering lengths, on 1D lattices the quadratic Zeeman coupling can induce either a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition between a gapped dimerized spin-3/2 phase and a gapless pseudo-spin-1/2 antiferromagnet, or a commensurate-incommensurate transition from a gapless spin-liquid into the pseudo-spin-1/2 antiferromagnet. Similar arguments allow to foresee corresponding transitions on ladder type and square lattices. We analyze various observables which should reveal in experiments these phases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2009

Correlation dynamics of strongly-correlated bosons in time-dependent optical lattices

We analyze by means of Matrix-Product-State simulations the correlation dynamics of strongly-correlated superfluid Bose gases in one-dimensional time-dependent optical lattices. We show that, as for the case of abrupt quenches, a quasi-adiabatic modulation of the lattice is characterized by a relatively long transient regime for which quasi-local single-particle correlation functions have already converged to a new equilibrium, whereas long-range correlations and particularly the quasi-condensate fraction may still present a very significant dynamics well after the end of the lattice modification. We also address the issue of adiabaticity by considering the fidelity between the time-evolved state and the ground-state of the final lattice.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2008

Double and negative reflection of cold atoms in non-Abelian gauge potentials

Atom reflection is studied in the presence of a non-Abelian vector potential proportional to a spin-1/2 operator. The potential is produced by a relatively simple laser configuration for atoms with a tripod level scheme. We show that the atomic motion is described by two different dispersion branches with positive or negative chirality. As a consequence of that, atom reflection shows unusual features, since an incident wave may split into two reflected ones at a barrier, an ordinary specular reflection, and an additional non-specular one. Remarkably, the latter wave can exhibit negative reflection and may become evanescent if the angle of incidence exceeds a critical value. These reflection properties are crucial for future designs in non-Abelian atom optics.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Evidence for coherent collective Rydberg excitation in the strong blockade regime

Blockade effects on the single quantum level are at the heart of quantum devices like single-electron transistors. The blockade mechanisms are based on strong interactions like the Coulomb interaction in case of single electrons. Neutral atoms excited into a Rydberg state experience abnormally strong interactions that lead to the corresponding blockade effect for Rydberg atoms. In this paper we report on our measurements of a strong van der Waals blockade, showing that only one out of several thousand atoms within a blockade volume can be excited. In addition, our experimental results demonstrate the coherent nature of the excitation of magnetically trapped ultracold atoms into a Rydberg state, confirming the predicted dependence of the collective Rabi frequency on the square root of the mesoscopic system size. This collective coherent behaviour is generic for all mesoscopic systems which are able to carry only one single excitation quantum.

quant-ph↗