Project Details
Projekt
FOR 801: Strong Correlations in Multiflavour Ultracold Quantum Gases
Subject Area
Physics
Term
from 2007 to 2014
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 28567861
Strong correlations have been studied for many decades, particularly in condensed matter and nuclear physics. They play a crucial role in understanding complex phenomena like superconductivity, metal-insulator transitions or the excitation spectra of nuclei. Building on the achievement of Bose-Einstein-Condensation (BEC) and degenerate Fermi gases in ultracold atomic vapors, strong correlation phenomena have recently been shown to appear even in such dilute gases. This has opened a new chapter in atomic and molecular physics, where interactions rather than single particle physics are at centre stage.
Two of the major tools, which allow to enter the regime of strong correlations in cold gases are optical lattices and Feshbach resonances. Together they allow for an almost perfect tunability of the effective interaction strength, providing an ideal realisation of most of the basic models in many body physics. Prominent examples are Bosons on an optical lattice or attractive Fermions near a Feshbach resonance. They exhibit a superfluid-insulator transition or an intermediate regime between a BCS- and a BEC-type superfluid, phenomena, which have never before been accessible in condensed matter physics. Here we propose to study strong correlations in cold gases with internal (spinor) degrees of freedom, in mixtures of Bose and Fermi gases and in degenerate gases subject to static disorder potentials. These systems have hardly been explored so far and are expected to display a number of complex phenomena, which are among the most challenging and still poorly understood problems in many body physics.
The experimental groups in Hamburg, Mainz and Munich will realise and investigate degenerate gases, in particular spinor gases and Bose-Fermi and Fermi-Fermi mixtures, both with and without optical lattices. Using two component systems allows realising static short-range potentials for one of the components. In a coordinated effort, the theoretical description will be provided by the theory groups in Aachen, Frankfurt and Munich, using both analytical and numerical techniques. The close collaboration between theory and experiment offers a unique possibility to explore fundamental issues in many body physics, like the competition between Anderson- and Mott-insulating phases in perfectly well defined and tunable systems.
Two of the major tools, which allow to enter the regime of strong correlations in cold gases are optical lattices and Feshbach resonances. Together they allow for an almost perfect tunability of the effective interaction strength, providing an ideal realisation of most of the basic models in many body physics. Prominent examples are Bosons on an optical lattice or attractive Fermions near a Feshbach resonance. They exhibit a superfluid-insulator transition or an intermediate regime between a BCS- and a BEC-type superfluid, phenomena, which have never before been accessible in condensed matter physics. Here we propose to study strong correlations in cold gases with internal (spinor) degrees of freedom, in mixtures of Bose and Fermi gases and in degenerate gases subject to static disorder potentials. These systems have hardly been explored so far and are expected to display a number of complex phenomena, which are among the most challenging and still poorly understood problems in many body physics.
The experimental groups in Hamburg, Mainz and Munich will realise and investigate degenerate gases, in particular spinor gases and Bose-Fermi and Fermi-Fermi mixtures, both with and without optical lattices. Using two component systems allows realising static short-range potentials for one of the components. In a coordinated effort, the theoretical description will be provided by the theory groups in Aachen, Frankfurt and Munich, using both analytical and numerical techniques. The close collaboration between theory and experiment offers a unique possibility to explore fundamental issues in many body physics, like the competition between Anderson- and Mott-insulating phases in perfectly well defined and tunable systems.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Projects
- Central Project "Networking and Coordination" (Applicant Bloch, Immanuel )
- Disorder and Quantum Magnetism in Ultracold Atom Systems (Applicant Hofstetter, Walter )
- Dynamics in multicomponent systems (Applicant Schollwöck, Ulrich )
- Fermi-Fermi quantum many-body systems in optical lattices (Applicant Ospelkaus, Silke )
- Interaction, Disorder and Dynamical Effects in Strongly Correlated Bosonic and Fermionic Ultracold Quantum Gases (Applicant Bloch, Immanuel )
- Quantum magnetism, unconventional super-fluids and nonequilibrium phenomena (Applicant Zwerger, Wilhelm )
- Strong correlations in multi-component quantum gases (Applicant Sengstock, Klaus )
- Superfluidity in two species Fermi-Fermi mixtures (Applicant Dieckmann, Kai )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Immanuel Bloch
