Quantum Vortex Simulator: from fundamental properties toward engineering mobility

Informations projet

QUAVADIS

N° de convention de subvention: 101076129

DOI

10.3030/101076129

Date de signature de la CE 30 Novembre 2023

Date de début 1 Janvier 2024

Date de fin 31 Decembre 2028

Financé au titre de

• European Research Council (ERC)

Coût total

€ 1 500 000,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 1 500 000,00

Coordonné par

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - QUAVADIS (Quantum Vortex Simulator: from fundamental properties toward engineering mobility)

Période du rapport: 2024-01-01 au 2026-06-30

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Vortices are ubiquitous phenomena, appearing in systems ranging from everyday fluids to astrophysical environments, and they play a central role in fluid dynamics. In quantum systems, vortices are equally fundamental, governing key transport properties of superfluids and superconductors. Since the discovery of helium superfluids and, later, atomic Bose–Einstein condensates, extensive research has revealed important features such as vortex lattice formation, nucleation dynamics, excitation modes, and dissipation mechanisms. Nevertheless, experimental studies have faced constraints, including limited control over geometry, interactions, and dynamical time scales, which have restricted access to many long-standing and complex problems in quantum vortex physics.

The main objective of this project is to investigate fundamental and practical aspects of quantum vortices using ultracold quantum gases as a highly controllable platform. By exploiting advanced quantum technologies and the favorable time and length scales of vortex dynamics in atomic superfluids, the project aims to experimentally address previously intractable problems in vortex physics. Enhanced optical access and the ability to arbitrarily tailor the superfluid density landscape will enable controlled vortex dynamics in designed geometries. This approach will allow systematic investigations in both two- and three-dimensional configurations with fully engineered trapping potentials.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

During the first two years of the project, the focus was on establishing a start-up experimental platform for lithium Fermi quantum gases. The main achievement was the successful construction and integration of a complete ultracold atom apparatus.

We realized the full laser cooling system, including the lithium oven, Zeeman slower, main vacuum system, and a six-beam D2 MOT. Subsequently, compressed MOT and D1 gray molasses cooling produced ~1.5 × 10⁹ atoms at 80–90 μK. Custom-built magnetic systems—including MOT coils, compensation coils, Zeeman slower coils, and water-cooled Feshbach coils—enabled precise magnetic control and tunable interactions. The integrated platform reached ultra-high vacuum pressures of 1.5 × 10⁻¹¹ Torr, enabling long atomic cloud lifetimes. A high-power infrared optical dipole trap was installed, and initial loading was carried out to transport the laser-cooled cloud to the glass cell via optical transport. In the glass cell, we performed evaporative cooling in the optical dipole trap and recently achieved a molecular Bose–Einstein condensate (mBEC), demonstrating full quantum degeneracy and confirming the performance of our new experimental setup.

We are currently optimizing the cooling scheme to maximize the atom number while simultaneously testing and implementing a digital micromirror device (DMD) to tailor the density and geometry of the cloud. Using quantum gas microscopy techniques, we expect to create deterministic, on-demand quantum vortices in our Fermi superfluid gases soon.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

The activities carried out during the first two years do not in themselves constitute scientific breakthroughs. Rather, they represent the completion of the essential preparatory phase required to enable future breakthrough results. The establishment of a fully operational lithium quantum gas platform, together with the demonstration of quantum degeneracy, confirms that the laboratory has reached physics-ready performance. The project now provides the technical conditions necessary for frontier studies of quantum vortices in strongly interacting Fermi systems. We will soon investigate previously unexplored vortex dynamics in two- and three-dimensional geometries, including vortex lines and rings in atomic superfluids across the BEC–BCS crossover.