Quantum simulation using optical lattices
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
Our aim is to engineer the properties of ultracold atoms, and molecules, in optical lattices and so use these precisely controlled many-body systems to model important strongly-correlated systems from Condensed Matter Physics (CMP). Optical-lattice experiments thus function as analogue quantum computers, and allow exploration of physical regimes inaccessible in CMP systems themselves. The ultimate vision is to develop a complete 'toolbox' of methods for the direct quantum simulation (DQS) of strongly-correlated systems. The intense current interest in this powerful interdisciplinary approach to fundamental quantum many-body problems has been stimulated, in part, by work carried out by members of this Collaboration. For example, Professor Bloch played a leading role in the first experimental observation of the superfluid to Mott Insulator transition in an optical lattice, a prime example of modelling CMP in such systems. This was predicted theoretically by Dr Jaksch (while working with Professor Zoller in Innsbruck). These ideas were recently extended in Florence to controlled disorder in optical lattices, and production of a Bose glass phase.This Collaboration will stimulate further work and collaborations between theory and experiment. The ground-breaking work on disorder will be continued by Dr Fort, using both bosons and fermions, and including time-dependent studies. Professor Foot's team (Oxford) will create a rotating optical lattice to simulate the application of a magnetic field to the analogous Condensed Matter system, and test predictions of Dr Jaksch on the high-field Fractional Quantum Hall effect. Professor Bloch's group in Mainz will create heteronuclear dipolar molecules in an optical lattice and exploit their strong electrostatic interactions for DQS of spin systems. The theory groups of Dr Jaksch in Oxford and Dr Daley in Innsbruck, will use state-of-the-art techniques to model the experimental systems, e.g. studying time-dependent transport phenomena and methods for preparing specialised many-body states via controlled addition of noise.
Organisations
Publications
Williams RA
(2010)
Observation of vortex nucleation in a rotating two-dimensional lattice of Bose-Einstein condensates.
in Physical review letters
Johnson T
(2010)
Dynamical simulations of classical stochastic systems using matrix product states
in Physical Review E
Clark S
(2010)
Entanglement consumption of instantaneous nonlocal quantum measurements
in New Journal of Physics
Al-Assam S
(2010)
Ultracold atoms in an optical lattice with dynamically variable periodicity
in Physical Review A
Rosenkranz M
(2010)
Simulating and detecting artificial magnetic fields in trapped atoms
in Physical Review A
Al-Assam S
(2011)
Capturing long range correlations in two-dimensional quantum lattice systems using correlator product states
in Physical Review B
Biamonte J
(2011)
Categorical Tensor Network States
in AIP Advances
Description | This was postdoctoral funding which was separated from grant EP/E010873/1 for administrative reasons by EPSRC. |
Exploitation Route | n |
Sectors | Other |
Description | Yes, in the follow on grant EP/J008028/1 and by other researchers. |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |