Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SIMIS (Strongly Interacting Mass Imbalanced Superfluid with ultracold fermions)
Reporting period: 2020-07-01 to 2022-06-30
The project aims at novel superfluid states in mixtures of ultracold fermionic atoms. Using different atomic species introduces mass imbalance into the problem, which according to theoretical predictions favors the emergence of unconventional superfluids. Such superfluids have been widely discussed in the theoretical literature, but have been elusive in the lab. With the mixture of dysprosium and potassium atoms, we have introduced a new and very promising platform for experimental research along these lines. A central objective is the realization of the first mass-imbalanced superfluid system of fermions.
In the first 5 months of the project we have optimized the preparation process of a deeply quantum-degenerate sample. This involves laser cooling and trapping and novel schemes of evaporative cooling of the quantum mixture. Moreover, we have developed schemes for the efficient tuning of interactions between the two components via a quantum-mechanical resonance (so-called Feshbach resonance). In this way, we have reached the major milestone of a strongly interacting mixture of fermionic dysprosium and potassium atoms.
We have created the first quantum-degenerate, strongly interacting mixture of ultracold fermionic atoms with different masses, and we expect to reach the superfluid state in further experiments. As a wider impact, the project will provide deeper understanding of exotic mechanisms that lead to superfluidity and superconductivity in new materials.