Project description
Exploring particle interactions in ultracold gases
Ultracold atoms in an optical lattice provide a unique approach to studying quantum many-body systems, which could previously only be studied using condensed-matter experimental systems. This new approach, called quantum simulation, offers the possibility to generate materials with exotic states. Until now, quantum simulations have neglected interactions in ultracold gases, associating each observed quantity with single-particle states. The EU-funded LATIS project seeks to realise strongly correlated topological states in ultracold gases by manipulating a small ensemble of atoms in the optical lattice. Building on the latest advances in the engineering of topological band structures in optical lattices, LATIS will explore the physics behind particle interactions in ultracold gases with unprecedented accuracy.
Objective
The LATIS project builds on the latest advances in addressing individual atoms and engineering topological band structures in optical lattices, in view of exploring the rich physics of interacting topological matter with unprecedented control. Ultracold topological matter has recently emerged as a central theme in the realm of quantum gases. By manipulating ultracold atoms in optical lattices, various experimental groups have realized a variety of topological band structures and detected their characteristic features. Creating topological matter with ultracold atoms offers a novel view on intriguing phenomena initially discovered in the solid state but also allows for the realization of exotic states that are inaccessible in real materials. This quantum-simulation approach to topological matter generates a constructive synergy between theoretical developments driven by curiosity and concrete technological applications. Until now, ultracold topological matter has been explored in the non-interacting regime of quantum gases, so that the observed quantities are associated with single-particle states. However, exciting avenues would become accessible upon combining engineered band structures with tunable interactions. This scenario would provide a concrete path towards the experimental realization of strongly-correlated topological states in ultracold gases. A promising path to create and address such states consists in manipulating a very small ensemble of atoms within a few lattice sites of an optical lattice, as now made possible by quantum gas microscopes. This setting would allow for unprecedented control over strongly-correlated topological matter, hence offering a unique framework for many-body quantum physics. The results emanating from the LATIS project will have a substantial impact on a wide scientific community working on quantum geometry and topological states of matter, with direct consequences for ongoing experiments on synthetic topological systems.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Host institution
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium