arXiv subjects

Michael Cantara

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Cantara.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Can the dipolar interaction suppress dipolar relaxation?

Magnetic atoms in a thin layer have repulsive interactions when their magnetic moments are aligned perpendicular to the layer. We show experimentally and theoretically how this can suppress dipolar relaxation, the dominant loss process in spin mixtures of highly magnetic atoms. Using dysprosium, we observe an order of magnitude extension of the lifetime, and another factor of ten is within reach based on the models which we have validated with our experimental study. The loss suppression opens up many new possibilities for quantum simulations with spin mixtures of highly magnetic atoms.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Atomic physics on a 50 nm scale: Realization of a bilayer system of dipolar atoms

Atomic physics has greatly advanced quantum science, mainly due to the ability to control the position and internal quantum state of atoms with high precision, often at the quantum limit. The dominant tool for this is laser light, which can structure and localize atoms in space (e.g., in optical tweezers, optical lattices, 1D tubes or 2D planes). Due to the diffraction limit of light, the natural length scale for most experiments with atoms is on the order of 500 nm or larger. Here we implement a new super-resolution technique which localizes and arranges atoms on a sub-50 nm scale, without any fundamental limit in resolution. We demonstrate this technique by creating a bilayer of dysprosium atoms, mapping out the atomic density distribution with sub-10 nm resolution, and observing dipolar interactions between two physically separated layers via interlayer sympathetic cooling and coupled collective excitations. At 50 nm, dipolar interactions are 1,000 times stronger than at 500 nm. For two atoms in optical tweezers, this should enable purely magnetic dipolar gates with kHz speed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2019

Enhancing the capture velocity of a Dy magneto-optical trap with two-stage slowing

Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) based on the $626\;{\rm nm}$, $136\;{\rm kHz}$-wide intercombination line of Dy, which has an attractively low Doppler temperature of $3.3\;μ{\rm K}$, have been implemented in a growing number of experiments over the last several years. A challenge in loading these MOTs comes from their low capture velocities. Slowed atomic beams can spread out significantly during free-flight from the Zeeman slower to the MOT position, reducing the fraction of the beam captured by the MOT. Here we apply, for the first time in a Dy experiment, a scheme for enhancing the loading rate of the MOT wherein atoms are Zeeman-slowed to a final velocity larger than the MOT's capture velocity, and then undergo a final stage of slowing by a pair of near-detuned beams addressing the $421\;{\rm nm}$ transition directly in front of the MOT. By reducing the free-flight time of the Zeeman-slowed atomic beam, we greatly enhance the slowed flux delivered to the MOT, leading to more than an order of magnitude enhancement in the final MOT population.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

The energy-momentum tensor and D-term of Q-clouds

The D-term is, like mass and spin, a fundamental property related to the energy-momentum tensor. Yet it is not known experimentally for any particle. In all theoretical studies so far the D-terms of various particles were found negative. Early works gave rise to the assumption the negative sign could be related to stability. The emerging question is whether it is possible to find a field-theoretical system with a positive D-term. To shed some light on this question we investigate Q-clouds, an extreme parametric limit in the Q-ball system. Q-clouds are classically unstable solutions which delocalize, spread out over all space forming an infinitely dilute gas of free quanta, and are even energetically unstable against tunneling to plane waves. In short, these extremely unstable field configurations provide an ideal candidate system for our purposes. By studying the energy-momentum tensor we show that at any stage of the Q-cloud limit one deals with perfectly well-defined and, when viewed in appropriately scaled coordinates, non-dissipating non-topological solitonic solutions. We investigate in detail their properties, and find new physical interpretations by observing that Q-clouds resemble BPS Skyrmions in certain aspects, and correspond to universal non-perturbative solutions in (complex) |Φ|^4 theory. In particular, we show that also Q-cloud solutions have negative D-terms. Our findings do not prove that D-terms must always be negative. But they indicate that it is unlikely to realize a positive D-term in a consistent physical system.

hep-ph↗