Showing papers by "Jörg Schmiedmayer published in 2022"

Experimental observation of curved light-cones in a quantum field simulator.

Abstract: We investigate signal propagation in a quantum field simulator of the Klein-Gordon model realized by two strongly coupled parallel one-dimensional quasi-condensates. By measuring local phononic fields after a quench, we observe the propagation of correlations along sharp light-cone fronts. If the local atomic density is inhomogeneous, these propagation fronts are curved. For sharp edges, the propagation fronts are reflected at the system's boundaries. By extracting the space-dependent variation of the front velocity from the data, we find agreement with theoretical predictions based on curved geodesics of an inhomogeneous metric. This work extends the range of quantum simulations of nonequilibrium field dynamics in general space-time metrics.

Floquet Engineering a Bosonic Josephson Junction.

Abstract: We study Floquet engineering of the tunnel coupling between a pair of one-dimensional bosonic quasicondensates in a tilted double-well potential. By modulating the energy difference between the two wells, we reestablish tunnel coupling and precisely control its amplitude and phase. This allows us to initiate coherence between two initially uncorrelated Bose gases and prepare different initial states in the emerging sine-Gordon Hamiltonian. We fully characterize the Floquet system and study the dependence of both equilibrium properties and relaxation on the modulation.

Nonlinear quantum gates for a Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract: Quantum interferometry and quantum information processing have been proposed for Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), but BECs are described in complicated ways such as using quantum field theory or using a nonlinear differential equation. Nonlinear quantum mechanics does not mesh well with the superposition principle at the heart of interferometry and quantum information processing but could be compatible. Thus, we develop a rigorous foundation for quantum gates, obtained by solving the equation for evolution, and then we employ this foundation, combined with quantum-control techniques and appropriate state-sampling techniques, to devise feasible nonlinear Hadamard gates and thereby feasible, i.e., high-contrast, nonlinear Ramsey interferometry. Our approach to BEC interferometry and quantum logic shifts the paradigm by enlarging to the case of nonlinear quantum mechanics, which we apply to the cases of BEC interferometry and quantum information processing.

Bridging Effective Field Theories and Generalized Hydrodynamics

Abstract: Generalized Hydrodynamics (GHD) has recently been devised as a method to solve the dynamics of integrable quantum many-body systems beyond the mean-field approximation. In its original form, a major limitation is the inability to predict equal-time correlations. Here we present a new method to treat thermal fluctuations of a 1D bosonic degenerate gas within the GHD framework. We show how the standard results using the thermodynmaic Bethe ansatz can be obtained through sampling of collective bosonic excitations, revealing the connection or duality between GHD and effective field theories such as the standard hydrodynamic equations. As an example, we study the damping of a coherently excited density wave and show how equal-time phase correlation functions can be extracted from the GHD evolution. Our results present a conceptually new way of treating fluctuations beyond the linearized regime of GHD.

Diffraction of strongly interacting molecular Bose-Einstein condensate from standing wave light pulses

Abstract: We study the effects of strong inter-particle interaction on diffraction of a Bose-Einstein condensate of ^6\mathrm{Li}_26Li2 molecules from a periodic potential created by pulses of a far detuned optical standing wave. For short pulses we observe the standard Kapitza-Dirac diffraction, with the contrast of the diffraction pattern strongly reduced for very large interactions due to interaction-dependent loss processes. For longer pulses diffraction shows the characteristic for matter waves impinging on an array of tubes and coherent channeling transport. We observe a slowing down of the time evolution governing the population of the momentum modes caused by the strong atom interaction. A simple physical explanation of that slowing down is the phase shift caused by the self-interaction of the forming matter wave patterns inside the standing light wave. Simple 1D mean field simulations qualitatively capture the phenomenon, however to quantitatively reproduce the experimental results the molecular scattering length has to be multiplied by factor of 4.2. In addition, two contributions to interaction-dependent degradation of the coherent diffraction patterns were identified: (i) in-trap loss of molecules during the lattice pulse, which involves dissociation of Feshbach molecules into free atoms, as confirmed by radio-frequency spectroscopy and (ii) collisions between different momentum modes during separation. This was confirmed by interferometrically recombining the diffracted momenta into the zero-momentum peak, which consequently removed the scattering background.

Verification of the area law of mutual information in a quantum field simulator

Abstract: Theoretical understanding of the scaling of entropies and the mutual information has led to significant advances in the research of correlated states of matter, quantum field theory, and gravity. Measuring von Neumann entropy in quantum many-body systems is challenging as it requires complete knowledge of the density matrix. In this work, we measure the von Neumann entropy of spatially extended subsystems in an ultra-cold atom simulator of one-dimensional quantum field theories. We experimentally verify one of the fundamental properties of equilibrium states of gapped quantum many-body systems, the area law of quantum mutual information. We also study the dependence of mutual information on temperature and the separation between the subsystems. Our work is a crucial step toward employing ultra-cold atom simulators to probe entanglement in quantum field theories.

Experimental verification of the area law of mutual information in quantum field theory

Abstract: Theoretical understanding of the scaling of entropies and the mutual information in quantum many-body systems has led to significant advances in the research of correlated states of matter, quantum field theory, and gravity. Although there have been several experimental measurements of R´enyi and von Neumann entropies in systems with discrete degrees of freedom, the measurement of entropies between extensive intervals of continuous systems has remained elusive. In this work, we measure the von Neumann entropy of spatially extended subsystems in an ultra-cold atom sim-ulator of one-dimensional quantum field theories. We experimentally verify one of the fundamental properties of equilibrium states of gapped quantum many-body systems, the area law of quantum mutual information. We also study the dependence of mutual information on temperature and the separation between the subsystems. Our work demonstrates the capability of ultra-cold atom simulators to measure entanglement in quantum field theories.

06 08 22 8 v 1 2 9 A ug 2 00 6 Radio-frequency dressed state potentials for neutral atoms

Abstract: Potentials for atoms can be created by external fields acting on properties like magnetic moment, charge, polarizability, or by oscillating fields which couple internal states. The most prominent realization of the latter is the optical dipole potential formed by coupling ground and electronically excited states of an atom with light. Here we present an experimental investigation of the remarkable properties of potentials derived from radio-frequency (RF) coupling between electronic ground states. The coupling is magnetic and the vector character allows to design state dependent potential landscapes. On atom chips this enables robust coherent atom manipulation on much smaller spatial scales than possible with static fields alone. We find no additional heating or collisional loss up to densities approaching 10 atoms / cm compared to static magnetic traps. We demonstrate the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates in RF potentials and investigate the difference in the interference between two independently created and two coherently split condensates in identical traps. All together this makes RF dressing a powerful new tool for micro manipulation of atomic and molecular systems.

19 2 v 1 2 2 Ju n 20 05 Quantum Scattering in Quasi-1 D Cylindrical Confinement

Abstract: Finite size effects alter not only the energy levels of small systems, but can also lead to new effective interactions within these systems. Here the problem of low energy quantum scattering by a spherically symmetric short range potential in the presence of a general cylindrical confinement is investigated. A Green’s function formalism is developed which accounts for the full 3D nature of the scattering potential by incorporating all phase-shifts and their couplings. This quasi-1D geometry gives rise to scattering resonances and weakly localized states, whose binding energies and wavefunctions can be systematically calculated. Possible applications include e.g. impurity scattering in ballistic quasi-1D quantum wires in mesoscopic systems and in atomic matter wave guides. In the particular case of parabolic confinement, the present formalism can also be applied to pair collision processes such as two-body interactions. Weakly bound pairs and quasi-molecules induced by the confinement and having zero or higher orbital angular momentum can be predicted, such as pand d-wave pairings.

Observation of Light-Induced Dipole-Dipole Forces in Ultracold Atomic Gases

Abstract: We investigate an attractive force caused by light induced dipole-dipole interactions in freely expanding ultracold 87 Rb atoms. This collective, light-triggered effect results in a self-confining potential with interesting features: it exhibits nonlocal properties, is attractive for both red and blue-detuned light fields and induces a remarkably strong force that depends on the gradient of the atomic density. The experimental data are discussed in the framework of a theoretical model based on a local-field approach for the light scattered by the atomic cloud.