6 research outputs found
Spontaneous pattern formation in an anti-ferromagnetic quantum gas
Spontaneous pattern formation is a phenomenon ubiquitous in nature, examples
ranging from Rayleigh-Benard convection to the emergence of complex organisms
from a single cell. In physical systems, pattern formation is generally
associated with the spontaneous breaking of translation symmetry and is closely
related to other symmetry-breaking phenomena, of which (anti-)ferromagnetism is
a prominent example. Indeed, magnetic pattern formation has been studied
extensively in both solid-state materials and classical liquids. Here, we
report on the spontaneous formation of wave-like magnetic patterns in a spinor
Bose-Einstein condensate, extending those studies into the domain of quantum
gases. We observe characteristic modes across a broad range of the magnetic
field acting as a control parameter. Our measurements link pattern formation in
these quantum systems to specific unstable modes obtainable from linear
stability analysis. These investigations open new prospects for controlled
studies of symmetry breaking and the appearance of structures in the quantum
domain
Frustrated quantum antiferromagnetism with ultracold bosons in a triangular lattice
We propose to realize the anisotropic triangular-lattice Bose-Hubbard model
with positive tunneling matrix elements by using ultracold atoms in an optical
lattice dressed by a fast lattice oscillation. This model exhibits frustrated
antiferromagnetism at experimentally feasible temperatures; it interpolates
between a classical rotor model for weak interaction, and a quantum spin-1/2
-model in the limit of hard-core bosons. This allows to explore
experimentally gapped spin liquid phases predicted recently [Schmied et al.,
New J. Phys. {\bf 10}, 045017 (2008)].Comment: 6 pages, as published in EP
Quantum phase transition to unconventional multi-orbital superfluidity in optical lattices
Orbital physics plays a significant role for a vast number of important
phenomena in complex condensed matter systems such as high-T
superconductivity and unconventional magnetism. In contrast, phenomena in
superfluids -- especially in ultracold quantum gases -- are commonly well
described by the lowest orbital and a real order parameter. Here, we report on
the observation of a novel multi-orbital superfluid phase with a {\it complex}
order parameter in binary spin mixtures. In this unconventional superfluid, the
local phase angle of the complex order parameter is continuously twisted
between neighboring lattice sites. The nature of this twisted superfluid
quantum phase is an interaction-induced admixture of the p-orbital favored by
the graphene-like band structure of the hexagonal optical lattice used in the
experiment. We observe a second-order quantum phase transition between the
normal superfluid (NSF) and the twisted superfluid phase (TSF) which is
accompanied by a symmetry breaking in momentum space. The experimental results
are consistent with calculated phase diagrams and reveal fundamentally new
aspects of orbital superfluidity in quantum gas mixtures. Our studies might
bridge the gap between conventional superfluidity and complex phenomena of
orbital physics.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Oscillations and interactions of dark and dark-bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates
Solitons are among the most distinguishing fundamental excitations in a wide
range of non-linear systems such as water in narrow channels, high speed
optical communication, molecular biology and astrophysics. Stabilized by a
balance between spreading and focusing, solitons are wavepackets, which share
some exceptional generic features like form-stability and particle-like
properties. Ultra-cold quantum gases represent very pure and well-controlled
non-linear systems, therefore offering unique possibilities to study soliton
dynamics. Here we report on the first observation of long-lived dark and
dark-bright solitons with lifetimes of up to several seconds as well as their
dynamics in highly stable optically trapped Rb Bose-Einstein
condensates. In particular, our detailed studies of dark and dark-bright
soliton oscillations reveal the particle-like nature of these collective
excitations for the first time. In addition, we discuss the collision between
these two types of solitary excitations in Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure