Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 65: Quantum Gases : Lattices III

Q 65.1: Group Report

Friday, March 12, 2010, 14:00–14:30, E 001

Quantum Gases in Hexagonal Optical Lattices — •Parvis Soltan-Panahi, Julian Struck, Georg Meineke, Wiebke Plenkers, Andreas Bick, Christoph Becker, Patrick Windpassinger, and Klaus Sengstock — Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Deutschland

The physics of ultracold quantum gases in optical lattices has developed to a fascinating field with many connections to different areas like condensed matter physics, quantum computing or ultracold chemistry.
So far, most experiments have been performed in cubic lattice structures with spin-independent potentials. We have realized a ”magnetic”, optical lattice with hexagonal symmetry, where atoms of different spin quantum number feel different potentials, e.g., having different periodicity. This leads to a specific ”magnetic ordering” and state-dependent Mott-insulator transition points or more generally to new options to study ”magnetism” in optical lattices.
In particular, we show that in case of a bosonic spin-mixture, interaction induced blocking of tunneling occurs. This manifests in terms of a significant shift of the quantum point of phase transition. To analyze the occupation of different lattice wells by the individual components of the spinor condensate we have developed a microwave spectroscopy technique that allows for unambiguous identification of different components and specific types of lattice sites. This enables us to observe a strong dependency of the atom-distribution due to the existence of several spin-components within the superfluid- and the Mott-insulating regime.