Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 35: Poster 2

Q 35.16: Poster

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 16:30–19:00, Poster.I+II

Exploring cavity-mediated long-range interactions in a dilute quantum gas — •Rafael Mottl, Kristian Baumann, Renate Landig, Ferdinand Brennecke, Tobias Donner, and Tilman Esslinger — Quantum Optics Group, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

We create a Bose-Einstein condensate with long-range atom-atom interactions which are mediated by the vacuum field of an optical cavity. These long-range interactions lead to a phase transition (equivalent to the Dicke quantum phase transition) between a normal and a supersolid phase, where the atoms arrange on a checkerboard lattice. We report on the observation of a characteristic change in the excitation spectrum and increased density fluctuations due to the long-range interactions. The openness of the cavity allows for time-resolved information about the density fluctuations.