The order parameter of a quantum-coherent many-body system can include a phase degree of freedom, which, in the presence of an electromagnetic field, depends on the choice of gauge. Because of the relationship between the phase gradient and the velocity, …

Gauge matters: observing the vortex-nucleation transition in a Bose condensate Read more »

Nathan Goldman et al‘s result describing techniques for measuring topology in a laser-coupled honeycomb lattice has been featured as a “Highlight of 2013” by The New Journal of Physics! This rocks! Highlights page: http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/page/highlights-of-2013 Article: http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/15/1/013025/article

We explore the time evolution of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), quasi one dimensional with respect to their spinor dynamics, following a quench from one component BECs with a U(1) order parameter into two-component condensates with a U(1)xZ2 order parameter. In …

Quenched binary Bose-Einstein condensates: Spin-domain formation and coarsening Read more »

Resonant absorption imaging is a common technique for detecting the two-dimensional column density of ultracold atom systems. In many cases, the system’s thickness along the imaging direction greatly exceeds the imaging system’s depth of field, making the identification of the …

Optimally focused cold atom systems obtained using density-density correlations Read more »

We present a new technique for producing two- and three-dimensional Rashba-type spin-orbit couplings for ultracold atoms without involving light. The method relies on a sequence of pulsed inhomogeneous magnetic fields imprinting suitable phase gradients on the atoms. For sufficiently short …

Magnetically Generated Spin-Orbit Coupling for Ultracold Atoms Read more »

Ultracold gases of interacting spin-orbit-coupled fermions are predicted to display exotic phenomena such as topological superfluidity and its associated Majorana fermions. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a route to strongly interacting single-component atomic Fermi gases by combining an s-wave Feshbach resonance (giving …

Raman-Induced Interactions in a Single-Component Fermi Gas Near an s-Wave Feshbach Resonance Read more »

Creating and measuring topological matter – with non-local order deeply embedded in the global structure of its quantum mechanical eigenstates – presents unique experimental challenges. Since this order has no signature in local correlation functions, it might seem experimentally inaccessible …

Review article: Detection of topological matter with quantum gases Read more »