2,822 research outputs found
Orbital superfluidity in the -band of a bipartite optical square lattice
The successful emulation of the Hubbard model in optical lattices has
stimulated world wide efforts to extend their scope to also capture more
complex, incompletely understood scenarios of many-body physics. Unfortunately,
for bosons, Feynmans fundamental "no-node" theorem under very general
circumstances predicts a positive definite ground state wave function with
limited relevance for many-body systems of interest. A promising way around
Feynmans statement is to consider higher bands in optical lattices with more
than one dimension, where the orbital degree of freedom with its intrinsic
anisotropy due to multiple orbital orientations gives rise to a structural
diversity, highly relevant, for example, in the area of strongly correlated
electronic matter. In homogeneous two-dimensional optical lattices, lifetimes
of excited bands on the order of a hundred milliseconds are possible but the
tunneling dynamics appears not to support cross-dimensional coherence. Here we
report the first observation of a superfluid in the -band of a bipartite
optical square lattice with -orbits and -orbits arranged in a
chequerboard pattern. This permits us to establish full cross-dimensional
coherence with a life-time of several ten milliseconds. Depending on a small
adjustable anisotropy of the lattice, we can realize real-valued striped
superfluid order parameters with different orientations or a
complex-valued order parameter, which breaks time reversal
symmetry and resembles the -flux model proposed in the context of high
temperature superconductors. Our experiment opens up the realms of orbital
superfluids to investigations with optical lattice models.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Effective three-body interactions of neutral bosons in optical lattices
We show that there are effective three- and higher-body interactions
generated by the two-body collisions of atoms confined in the lowest
vibrational states of a 3D optical lattice. The collapse and revival dynamics
of approximate coherent states loaded into a lattice are a particularly
sensitive probe of these higher-body interactions; the visibility of
interference fringes depend on both two-, three-, and higher-body energy
scales, and these produce an initial dephasing that can help explain the
surprisingly rapid decay of revivals seen in experiments. If inhomogeneities in
the lattice system are sufficiently reduced, longer timescale partial and
nearly full revivals will be visible. Using Feshbach resonances or control of
the lattice potential it is possible to tune the effective higher-body
interactions and simulate effective field theories in optical lattices.Comment: Published version with updated discussion and corrections on two-body
energies; same results for three-body energie
Rapid sympathetic cooling to Fermi degeneracy on a chip
Neutral fermions present new opportunities for testing many-body condensed
matter systems, realizing precision atom interferometry, producing ultra-cold
molecules, and investigating fundamental forces. However, since their first
observation, quantum degenerate Fermi gases (DFGs) have continued to be
challenging to produce, and have been realized in only a handful of
laboratories. In this Letter, we report the production of a DFG using a simple
apparatus based on a microfabricated magnetic trap. Similar approaches applied
to Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) of 87Rb have accelerated evaporative
cooling and eliminated the need for multiple vacuum chambers. We demonstrate
sympathetic cooling for the first time in a microtrap, and cool 40K to Fermi
degeneracy in just six seconds -- faster than has been possible in conventional
magnetic traps. To understand our sympathetic cooling trajectory, we measure
the temperature dependence of the 40K-87Rb cross-section and observe its
Ramsauer-Townsend reduction.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (v3: new collision data, improved atom number
calibration, revised text, improved figures.
Photoionization of ultracold and Bose-Einstein condensed Rb atoms
Photoionization of a cold atomic sample offers intriguing possibilities to
observe collective effects at extremely low temperatures. Irradiation of a
rubidium condensate and of cold rubidium atoms within a magneto-optical trap
with laser pulses ionizing through 1-photon and 2-photon absorption processes
has been performed. Losses and modifications in the density profile of the
remaining trapped cold cloud or the remaining condensate sample have been
examined as function of the ionizing laser parameters. Ionization
cross-sections were measured for atoms in a MOT, while in magnetic traps losses
larger than those expected for ionization process were measured.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Adding control to arbitrary unknown quantum operations
While quantum computers promise significant advantages, the complexity of
quantum algorithms remains a major technological obstacle. We have developed
and demonstrated an architecture-independent technique that simplifies adding
control qubits to arbitrary quantum operations-a requirement in many quantum
algorithms, simulations and metrology. The technique is independent of how the
operation is done, does not require knowledge of what the operation is, and
largely separates the problems of how to implement a quantum operation in the
laboratory and how to add a control. We demonstrate an entanglement-based
version in a photonic system, realizing a range of different two-qubit gates
with high fidelity.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Two-orbital SU(N) magnetism with ultracold alkaline-earth atoms
Fermionic alkaline-earth atoms have unique properties that make them
attractive candidates for the realization of novel atomic clocks and degenerate
quantum gases. At the same time, they are attracting considerable theoretical
attention in the context of quantum information processing. Here we demonstrate
that when such atoms are loaded in optical lattices, they can be used as
quantum simulators of unique many-body phenomena. In particular, we show that
the decoupling of the nuclear spin from the electronic angular momentum can be
used to implement many-body systems with an unprecedented degree of symmetry,
characterized by the SU(N) group with N as large as 10. Moreover, the interplay
of the nuclear spin with the electronic degree of freedom provided by a stable
optically excited state allows for the study of spin-orbital physics. Such
systems may provide valuable insights into strongly correlated physics of
transition metal oxides, heavy fermion materials, and spin liquid phases.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. V2: extended experimental accessibility and
Kondo sections in the main text (including new Fig. 5b) and in the Methods;
reorganized other parts; added reference
Measurement of the front-end dead-time of the LHCb muon detector and evaluation of its contribution to the muon detection inefficiency
A method is described which allows to deduce the dead-time of the front-end
electronics of the LHCb muon detector from a series of measurements performed
at different luminosities at a bunch-crossing rate of 20 MHz. The measured
values of the dead-time range from 70 ns to 100 ns. These results allow to
estimate the performance of the muon detector at the future bunch-crossing rate
of 40 MHz and at higher luminosity
Performance of the LHCb muon system
The performance of the LHCb Muon system and its stability across the full
2010 data taking with LHC running at ps = 7 TeV energy is studied. The
optimization of the detector setting and the time calibration performed with
the first collisions delivered by LHC is described. Particle rates, measured
for the wide range of luminosities and beam operation conditions experienced
during the run, are compared with the values expected from simulation. The
space and time alignment of the detectors, chamber efficiency, time resolution
and cluster size are evaluated. The detector performance is found to be as
expected from specifications or better. Notably the overall efficiency is well
above the design requirementsComment: JINST_015P_1112 201
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Search for lepton-flavour-violating decays of Higgs-like bosons.
A search is presented for a Higgs-like boson with mass in the range 45 to 195 GeV/c2 decaying into a muon and a tau lepton. The dataset consists of proton-proton interactions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV , collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2 fb-1 . The tau leptons are reconstructed in both leptonic and hadronic decay channels. An upper limit on the production cross-section multiplied by the branching fraction at 95% confidence level is set and ranges from 22 pb for a boson mass of 45 GeV/c2 to 4 pb for a mass of 195 GeV/c2
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