Spin–orbit coupling links a particle’s velocity to its quantum-mechanical spin, and is essential in numerous condensed matter phenomena, including topological insulators and Majorana fermions. In solid-state materials, spin–orbit coupling originates from the movement of electrons in a crystal’s intrinsic electric …
We have observed well-defined phase slips between quantized persistent current states around a toroidal atomic (23Na) Bose-Einstein condensate. These phase slips are induced by a weak link (a localized region of reduced superfluid density) rotated slowly around the ring. This …
Driving Phase Slips in a Superfluid Atom Circuit with a Rotating Weak Link Read more »
Fermions, as a major class of quantum particles, provide platforms for quantum information processing beyond the possibilities of spins or bosons, which have been studied more extensively. One particularly interesting model to study, in view of recent progress in manipulating …
We present a method for accurate determination of atomic transition matrix elements at the 10-3 level. Measurements of the ac Stark (light) shift around “magic-zero” wavelengths, where the light shift vanishes, provide precise constraints on the matrix elements. We make …
Precision Measurement of Transition Matrix Elements via Light Shift Cancellation Read more »
Motivated by the recent experimental success in realizing synthetic spin-orbit coupling in ultracold atomic systems, we consider N-component atoms coupled to a non-Abelian SU(N) gauge field. More specifically, we focus on the case, referred to here as “SU(3) spin-orbit-coupling,” where …
SU(3) Spin-Orbit Coupling in Systems of Ultracold Atoms Read more »
Karina received her Ph.D. and starts her postdoc in Ching Chin’s group at Chicago. Good luck Karina! In addition to participating in a range of experiments creating artificial gauge fields for cold atoms, Karina: lead our precision experiment measuring the …
Karina Jimenéz-García graduates and moves on to a postdoc! Read more »
We all wish Deep the best in his new Staff Scientist position at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, India. During his tenure, Deep setup the now operating RbLi experiment on the University of Maryland campus, and lead our …
The coupling of the spin of electrons to their motional state lies at the heart of recently discovered topological phases of matter. Here we create and detect spin-orbit coupling in an atomic Fermi gas, a highly controllable form of quantum …
Spin-Injection Spectroscopy of a Spin-Orbit Coupled Fermi Gas Read more »
Interactions between particles can be strongly altered by their environment. We demonstrate a technique for modifying interactions between ultracold atoms by dressing the bare atomic states with light, creating an effective interaction of vastly increased range that scatters states of …
Synthetic Partial Waves in Ultracold Atomic Collisions Read more »
We have created a long-lived (≈40 s) persistent current in a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate held in an all-optical trap. A repulsive optical barrier across one side of the torus creates a tunable weak link in the condensate circuit, which can affect …