Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 9: Ultracold Matter III – Fermions (joint session Q/A)

A 9.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 11:45–12:00, P 2

Observation of an integer quantum Hall state of six fermions — •Johannes Reiter, Paul Hill, Maciej Galka, and Selim Jochim — Physikalisches Institut, Univeristät Heidelberg, Deutschland

Integer and fractional quantum Hall states underpin the understanding of topological phases of matter featuring exotic macroscopic properties such as the quantization of the transverse resistivity and emergence of robust edge currents. Expanding upon our deterministic preparation of a spinful two-particle Laughlin state [PRL 133, 253401], we present the recent observation of an integer quantum Hall state of six rapidly rotating fermions confined in a tight optical tweezer. Momentum-space imaging of the many body density reveals the hallmark uniform flattening of the particle density distribution. Through a differential time-of-flight measurement in anisotropically shaped traps, we extract the 2D current density indicative of the non-zero angular momentum in quantum Hall states. This novel technique allows direct determination of the angular momentum otherwise impossible to obtain from a density measurement without prior assumptions of the state's composition.

Our results not only demonstrate the scalability of our atom-by-atom assembly technique of quantum hall states, but also introduce a new method to directly measure angular momentum, opening new avenues for probing the microscopic kinematics of topological phase transitions.

Keywords: Topological matter; Quantum Hall effect; Quantum phase transition