Project description
A pioneering optical trap invokes novel atom coupling and exotic spin excitations
Quantum many-body systems are systems of many interacting particles such as in nuclei or quark–gluon plasma. Novel experimental setups have shed light on the forces and properties associated with such systems. Optical traps, or optical tweezers, use light (laser radiation pressure) to hold small particles in place. The EU-funded ATARAXIA project is taking this one step further with its pioneering synthetic many-body system consisting of assembled arrays of individual laser-cooled atoms held in microscopic optical traps. The coupled atoms naturally produce spin excitations that behave like hopping particles, interacting strongly with each other. This unique setup will enable scientists to investigate important open questions in quantum many-body physics.
Objective
This project will study out-of-equilibrium dynamics of isolated and dissipative quantum systems, and interacting topological matter using a new type of synthetic many-body system pioneered in my group: assembled arrays of individual laser-cooled atoms held in microscopic optical traps. Unlike most traditional approaches exploiting van der Waals interactions, here the atoms will be coupled by resonant dipole interactions, a new opportunity that we introduced recently. This interaction naturally realizes a spin model where the spin excitations behave as particles hopping between sites and strongly interact with each other. The unique feature of this interaction is that it allows for the exploration of many-body problems both in a unitary regime where the interactions are fully conservative, and in a regime with collective dissipation by the emission of light. We will investigate these two situations using two different setups. The unitary regime will rely on an existing platform where rubidium atoms are excited to Rydberg states to implement large interactions. The dissipative regime will be explored on a new apparatus specifically built for the study of controlled, collective dissipation. It will be based on arrays of individual dysprosium atoms coupled by resonant interactions on an optical transition. These interactions, combined with our ability to vary the geometry of the arrays, to perform high-fidelity manipulations of individual atoms and measure correlation functions, will allow us to address open questions, in collaboration with theorists. We will (i) investigate out-of-equilibrium quantum magnetism in spin systems, in particular with frustrated geometries; (ii) seek to obtain the first realization of a bosonic fractional topological insulator; (iii) prepare collective states with tailored coupling to light, study the emergence of quantum correlations in a dissipative regime, and generate a new kind of interaction-induced single-photon non-linearity. r
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-ADG
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75794 PARIS
France
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